In My Blackest Hour
by MetalisLife
Summary: "Destiny makes us choose between good or evil. In those moments, mankind will know his true colors. Doing nothing is not an option." In their time of need, the Senshi receive help from an unlikely source. Prequel to "The Gray Realm."
1. Chapter 1: We Still Kill the Old Way

In My Blackest Hour: A Prequel to "The Gray Realm"

Author's ramblings:

As mentioned, this is the prologue to my other story, "The Gray Realm." That story was an alternate take on how Sailor Saturn came to join the Senshi—Hotaru fans, take note! Judging by the number of hits the story's gotten, you guys have enjoyed it, which after all is the whole point of writing.

First question in mind is: do you have to have read "The Gray Realm" to get this story? No, but it helps. This story is about how the characters wound up in the situations described in "The Gray Realm." How do their paths eventually cross?

I'm glad you all have been enjoying "The Gray Realm," and now "In My Blackest Hour." And again, thanks for reading.

MetalIsLife

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_CHAPTER ONE – WE STILL KILL THE OLD WAY_

"Moon Prism Power, MAKE-UP!" Usagi Tsukino yelled with that unique combination of joy and determination that had endeared her to so many. In seconds flat, the indomitable Moon Princess had appeared in the place of the timid schoolgirl in a brilliant flash of colors. She stood confidently on the roof of the building, her distinctive hair flapping in the breeze, her white-gloved hands curled into half-fists. A half-smirk edged up the side of Usagi's face; an expression that said she was powerful, and she knew it.

"In the name of the Moon, you are in _big _trouble," she taunted the scaly youma with dragon wings that faced her. A biped, the monster had green plated armor, and its wings were tipped with razor-sharp bones for weapons.

The beast narrowed its black eyes, not looking very impressed. With a roar, it raised its bat-like wings and clapped them together before its body, sending a seismic wave of energy towards the Moon Princess, who was unceremoniously interrupted in her speech as she dove to her right to avoid it. No sooner had this happened that she had to dodge again as the youma stabbed downward with one if its wing-blades, embedding itself in the concrete. Dust and crushed rock flew around it in a puff.

The dragon youma stabbed down with its other wing-blade, trying to bracket Usagi in between its deadly wings. Once again she barely dodged it and tried to scramble to her feet. By that time, however, the beast had brought its other wing to bear, striking again and again.

Twisting around on the floor, Usagi frantically tried to stay one step ahead of the monster as it jabbed at her, gouging holes in the concrete left and right. She shrieked as one particularly close call cost her a lock of hair. "Why'd I have to challenge a youma on top of a roof?" she groaned.

Sailor Moon attempted to push herself backwards to put some distance between her and the youma, resulting in a frantically awkward crabwalk as the ground around her started to resemble the surface of her Moon. Calmly stepping forward, the dragon youma continued to lash mercilessly, trying to impale the Moon Princess on one of its bone-blades.

Usagi whipped out her Moon Spiral Heart Rod just in time to knock aside one of the talons as it aimed for her stomach. A deafening scrape resounded as the weapons clashed.

Then the monster roared with glee as its other talon hit home.

Sailor Moon's arm had flown out to the side as she blocked the first attack, leaving her side vulnerable to an undercut from the youma's other bone-blade.

The sharp blade gouged into Sailor Moon's side just below her armpit; she screamed in pain, dropping her scepter and rolling onto her stomach, clutching the wound to stop the flow of blood that was already staining her white uniform.

Blood dripping from the tip of its blade, the youma grinned sadistically in triumph and moved in for the kill.

But it quickly learned what the other youma always would: going after one Sailor Senshi was unwise when there were four more to account for.

"Mercury Bubbles—BLAST!"

"Mars Fire—IGNITE!"

"Jupiter Thunder—CRASH!"

"Venus Crescent V—SMASH!"

The thick ray of pure, multicolored energy from the lethal combination of Sailor attacks struck the dragon demon square in the heart; it roared in agony before disintegrating into a pile of light dust that soon vanished into thin air.

The other four Senshi ran to their wounded leader, who was doubled over on her knees, pressing her hand to her side with a pained grimace.

"Sailor Moon! You're hurt!" Sailor Mercury skidded to a halt and leaned down to look at her wound. "Please, Usagi, let me see," she quietly urged the Moon Princess.

Reluctantly, the blonde removed her blood-stained hand for the Senshi of Water. Hurt flashed through Ami Mizuno's eyes as she looked at the wound. "It's deep," she said worriedly. "It's a good thing I've gotten into the habit of carrying my first aid kit around."

"Well, if you're gonna be a doctor, you gotta be prepared," Sailor Jupiter agreed.

"If only we had gotten the alert message a few seconds sooner…" Sailor Mars muttered as Ami began to clean and dress Sailor Moon's wound. A stiff breeze blew over the roof; they were about ten stories up.

"Whatever; I almost had him," Sailor Moon said before wincing with pain.

"I guess we can scratch one up for the good guys," said Sailor Venus breezily. "Check out the moon. It's kinda nice up here." She was right. The tall buildings of Tokyo twinkled in the night air in a prosperous display of beauty. The dull roar of traffic and the distant sound of sirens completed the big-city picture. A yellow moon hung low in the sky, silently watching over the landscape as it always had for millions of years, buildings or no buildings. If their leader wasn't badly wounded, the Senshi might have had a chance to enjoy it.

Now that her adrenaline was dying down, though, Sailor Moon's eyes filled with tears of pain. "It's like I can still _feel _that thing cutting through me," she whispered. "Thank you, Ami. You're the best. I swear, you're going to be a great doctor."

The blue-haired girl blushed lightly as she continued to wrap bandages around the area. "I still have a few years of school yet," she said quietly. "Medical school takes a long time to complete, longer than a regular university like the rest of you."

"I'm glad for you, though," said Sailor Venus, removing her stare from the Tokyo skyline. "If anyone's cut out for med school, it's you, Ami." The blonde smiled at her friend.

Mercury looked a little embarrassed at her friends' praise, but enjoyed it nonetheless. She was truly lucky to have companions like them.

"Anyway, it's getting chilly up here; we should go home," the Senshi of Water announced as she finished patching up Usagi. "Does it still hurt, Sailor Moon?"

"Yeah, I'm definitely feeling this one tomorrow," the blonde leader said with another grimace of pain.

As they walked home together, Usagi taking care not to aggravate her injury, Sailor Venus began to muse out loud. "You know, this is almost getting kind of routine. Getting out of school, and then getting woken up at some ungodly hour to go fight a youma somewhere. I mean, what is this, like five nights in a row this has happened?"

"Six," said Ami. "If you count that one that showed up during the day while we were all in school."

"Oh, that was fun—getting out of math for about an hour was great," Usagi joked. "I mean, not that I look forward to monster attack, never! But it was still…I mean…yeah." She frowned, realizing that she didn't like making light of the people who had suffered at the youma claws.

"Don't worry about it, Usagi, everyone here knows what you meant," said Makoto, her brunette ponytail bobbing.

"They do seem to be getting more frequent, though," Ami observed, her eyebrows furrowing.

"What can we say? This job is demanding!" said Minako. A few more seconds passed, during which their footfalls made up the only sounds. "Rei, are you alright? You seem very quiet."

The miko walked along in silence, her head slightly bowed and her lips pursed in concentration. Finally she snapped her head up and looked at her friends.

"For God's sake guys, doesn't it bug you?" she asked irritably. "How we're just being purely reactive at this point? Running around and putting out fires as they appear?"

"Pun intended, Rei?" Minako smirked.

The Senshi of Fire frowned. "Being purely reactive means we're on the defensive all the time. We need to be more proactive. Don't you get what I'm saying? These youma just keep coming out of nowhere, and there are more of them all the time! I mean, where the hell do they all come from?"

"The Neg—" Ami started to answer before Rei interrupted.

"I know they're coming from the Negaverse, Ami; I'm not stupid. But it bothers me. We should be finding a way to strike at the source, stop them before they get here—instead of running around like a bunch of headless chickens. I'm worried we're getting overextended. I mean, there are only five of us, six if you include Tuxedo Kamen. Now I don't know about you guys, but I'm thinking it's a bit of a stretch for six people to hold back a horde of demonic invaders."

"Aren't you being a little cynical, Rei?" Usagi asked gently. "This group of people has saved the world…how many times?"

"I know that; I'm just being realistic," she replied. "I mean, what happens if the youma wise up and just start launching attacks in more than six locations? We'll be screwed."

"Luckily they aren't too bright, are they?" Makoto smirked, although she had to admit that Rei had a point.

"Well, when we defeated Queen Beryl, we thought that was the end of it," said Ami. "It turned out not to be. It's been that way with every major enemy we've fought—if we destroy one, than sooner or later another will rise to take its place. We all know this. This is the business we're in. It's our destiny."

"I just wish the road map to the paradise on the Moon was clearer, that's all," said Rei tiredly. She had spoken a frustration that all of the Senshi had felt to some degree at one point another, although the Fire Senshi was the only one who would admit to it openly.

"Look everyone, I know things have been tougher than normal for us lately," said Usagi. "And it'll probably stay that way for a while. But things have always brightened up for us eventually. Every time it looked as if we were done for, somehow we always got another chance. As long as we just keep our trust and love in one another, we will triumph. I promise."

The Moon Princess' words spread warmth through the group. Usagi Tsukino was deceptively klutzy, but she was capable of saying encouraging, heartwarming things seemingly without even trying. It was inspiring for the Senshi to watch her take on her leadership role so bravely.

The group came to a halt in front of Hikawa Jinja temple to drop Rei off. Her grandpa had left a few lamps burning for her, their orange glow inviting the miko inside to take a much-deserved rest. The temple's simple elegance was comforting. The miko smiled tiredly, looking fondly at her home, about her grandfather asleep on his cot and her crows waiting for her to speak to them when the sun rose.

"I've always tried to get to the bottom of things, about what's going on behind it all," she mused. "I'm sure I'll just stretch out in front of a nice big fire and feel better in the morning. Sorry about the bitterness, guys."

"Don't worry Rei; we know you're not really a firebrand bitch that you pretend to be," said Makoto, smacking her on the back playfully. Rei closed her eyes and smiled slightly. "Good night, everyone," she said before disappearing up the temple steps.

Usagi mused over her Senshi's observations as they continued walking. "To be honest, I'm glad she brought all that up," she thought out loud. "Maybe what we need is just a little more help."

"And how do we get that? Put an ad in the paper?" Minako joked. "Come on, Usagi, who could possibly keep up with the defenders of the universe?"

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The crack of a gunshot filled the summer air. "Boom! Headshot!" a young man cried in satisfaction.

"What's that?" a grizzled older man asked him.

Matt Sneider shrugged. "It's just something we like to say now." He and his uncle Kenneth, a Vietnam veteran, were at an outdoor shooting range just outside of Chicago. It wasn't very crowded today; they had been able to find an empty sand range just for the two of them.

A licensed gun-owner and a proud NRA member, Uncle Ken had been taking Matt shooting ever since the latter was in high school. He had taken well to it, one of the reasons being that it was an excellent stress-reliever.

"You know, in basic they always tell you to aim for the chest, because it's the center of mass and there a lot of vital organs there. Easier to hit, too," Uncle Ken explained as he fired off the last shot of his clip.

"Screw center of mass," said Matt Sneider lightly. "I aim for the head."

Ken Sneider laughed. "Listen to you, talking like you know everything already. I don't care if you just graduated from college; you've still got a long way to go."

Matt shrugged. He knew he didn't look very intimidating. Out of shape? Definitely. Not particularly handsome, but not exactly "brown bag over your head" material either. Yup, that was him. Newly minted Northwestern graduate? Class 2010, baby. Looked more like a comic-book nerd than a business professional? Yes.

Major gun enthusiast? Take a wild guess. Why else would he be here?

"Let's see how we did," Ken carefully placed his Glock on the table, safety on and pointed away from him and his nephew. Safety first.

The two of them trooped over the dirt range to their cardboard-cutout targets, their feet crunching over sand and gravel. The summer sun bore down on them.

Matt examined his Osama bin Laden target. He had fired fifteen 9mm rounds, which was standard for a Glock 19. Three had hit the upper chest area, not exactly where he would have liked but still good.

Three in the neck. Not bad.

One in the mouth, one in each cheekbone. A few complete misses, he was embarrassed to observe.

But where the cardboard figure's eyes had once been, there were now clear-cut holes through which Matt could see the dirt of the range.

Matt's uncle let out a low whistle. "Impressive. I don't see fifteen holes, so you gotta work on that. But still…nice job."

After setting up new targets, they walked back to their dugout to reload and try a different set of pistols. "By the way, I forgot to ask you, how'd that interview with Goldman Sachs go?" Ken asked.

Matt shrugged again. "Pretty well, I guess. I applied to the Tokyo branch."

"Tokyo? I thought for sure you'd want to go to New York."

"It's a new operation; there's a lot of opportunity to advance," Matt said. "I've got to go where the jobs are. Thanks for introducing me to the campus recruiter, by the way."

His uncle nodded. "You're welcome. When I worked at Goldman, it was a different world. Man—Tokyo, Japan! That's a big move, kid."

"Only if I actually get the job," Matt reminded him.

"Spoken like a true critic. So they asked you all the standard interview questions?"

"Yeah, like, 'what does an investment bank do' and 'why do you want to work here', that kind of thing."

"They should have asked you if you'd like to be on the security detail, with the way you've been shooting," Ken said. "You're doing well, I'll give you that. It's a shame that in all likelihood, you won't be able to do stuff like this over there. They've got a completely different set of laws."

"We'll see about that. Japan will have to change its gun laws entirely because of me!"

Uncle Kenneth chuckled. "You're confident. But remember, that can sometimes get you into trouble. Don't let it go to your head."

An audible vibration like an angry wasp buzzing was Matt's cell phone ringing on the table.

"Hello?"

"Yes, hi, may I speak with Matthew Sneider?"

"Speaking."

"Hi there, Mr. Sneider; this is Bob Kretz, recruiter with Goldman Sachs and Co. Do you have a minute to speak?"

Matt's heart froze. This was the call he had been waiting for. He gave his uncle a meaningful look.

"Sure."

"Well, Mr. Sneider—or may I call you Matt?—we've reviewed your resume after your third-round interview with us, and it's impressive. As you know, we here at Goldman only hire the best, and I'm pleased to inform you that you meet our qualifications. We'd love to have you on board, and I hereby extend to you an offer for our entry-level analyst program at Goldman Sachs Tokyo."

Matt's heart raced; blood rushed to his head. Struggling to keep calm in his excitement, he replied, "I'd be honored to accept the position, sir."

When the call was over, Matt pumped his fist in the air and let out a wordless yell of triumph. "I'm gonna be the best damn analyst they've ever SEEN!" he exclaimed. "Five years, Uncle Ken. Give me five years, and I'm gonna be up on the top floor making it rain for the happy stockholders."

Matt's uncle seemed put off by his enthusiasm.

"Congratulations bud; I'm happy for you. But listen…I know you love finance, and that's fine. But remember, a job is still a job, even if yours will probably pay more than most. It still means you'll be working 110-hour weeks and taking orders from someone else. It's no picnic. Make your money and get out."

"Come on man, quit raining on my parade," Matt scoffed. "Can we shoot the .357 Magnum now?"

He felt the comfortable weight of the snub-nose pistol in his hand. Despite its relatively small size, it still kicked like a mule.

"Tokyo, Japan…here I come," said Matt Sneider, as his gunshot boomed through the silent air.


	2. Chapter 2: Madhouse

_CHAPTER TWO – MADHOUSE_

Ami Mizuno removed her reading glasses as she stared at her organic chemistry textbook, rubbing her eyes. She squinted at the complicated diagram of the organic compound on the page, trying to figure out its nomenclature.

"Five carbon atoms…four hydrogen…one nitrogen…bonded with carboxylic acid…equals niacin? How?" she muttered, trying to force her brain to comprehend the odd formula in front of her eyes. She glanced out the window of the student lounge where she was working.

The sun was starting to go down, and crowds of Japanese citizens made their way home for the evening. It was Tokyo rush hour, a time for everyone to get out of work as quickly as they could for a quiet evening at home, dinner, and family and friends. But not for a medical student—Ami could see nothing ahead of her except another long evening of organic chemistry. Even for someone as brilliant as she was, it was still exceptionally tough. She didn't even want to think of what would happen if her studying was interrupted by a youma attack. Oh, they would be sorry…

The blue-haired genius sighed and started to pack up. "Time to go home," she thought to herself. "Have some of mom's cooking…make myself some tea…" She started to run through how she would tackle the chemistry as she stepped outside and started walking.

Walking closely to the buildings around her so she could cut corners easily, Ami's mind started to wander now that it was free of studying for the moment. Youma activity had been relatively quiet the past couple of days since they had rescued Usagi, which was good since it had given her wound time to heal. Ami wondered how she had been able to explain the injury to her parents.

Ami frowned. That was one of the few things she thought was unfortunate about being a Sailor Senshi—it meant you had to constantly cover your tracks, including withholding the truth from loved ones and family members. Not that she wanted recognition for her deeds, but sometimes she wondered what it would be like to talk to someone outside the core group of six. It hurt her, having to lie about where she had been all night or where the random scratches and bruises were coming from. But they were sworn to secrecy, as always—and her friends were all she had in that regard.

Despite her musings, Ami stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, causing a few people behind her to bump rudely into the med student with an angry reply of, "Watch where you're going." Ami stared at one of the side streets.

Members of the Japanese Self-Defense Force were nothing out of the ordinary, especially in the age of terrorism. But Ami felt there was something suspicious about five or six of them, submachine guns on their backs, marching into a dark alley. The crowded mass of humanity on the streets seemed too preoccupied in their own little worlds to notice anything out of the ordinary.

Ami debated briefly before cautiously following them.

The sun had continued to go down, making the alley appear even darker. She moved silently through it, tailing the policemen by about twenty-five feet.

The rear guard quickly turned around to see whether they were being followed, and saw…nothing out of the ordinary. The alley was crowded with trash cans and garbage, like any other alley, and Ami had quickly crouched behind one of them to hide herself.

The squad disappeared around a corner, deeper into the maze of back alleys in between the apartment blocks that surrounded them. It amazed her how _chaotic _Tokyo sometimes seemed, with side streets and alleys that twisted back upon themselves and seemed to lead nowhere.

Stepping as quietly as she could, Ami peeked around the corner of the brick wall and her eyes widened in shock.

A choking sound came from the woman who had been taking out the garbage behind one of the buildings; a black-gloved hand had gripped her throat. A strange pinkish glow filled the woman's body as she slumped to the ground, drained of energy. The policeman lowered his victim to the ground, depositing her on the floor and flexing his hand. A derisive snort came from behind his riot mask. "Humans and their trust for authority," he told his companions. "I told you this would work."

"Youma," Ami thought in dismay. "Mercury Power, MAKE-UP!" She pulled out her mini-computer and frantically tried to pinpoint who was closest to offer aid. A red dot showed up only a few blocks away. She sent a commique: "Rei, I need you to drop what you're doing and get over here as soon as you can. Please."

The blue-suited Senshi of Water stepped angrily around the corner to confront the monsters in disguise. "Do you have any idea how tough it is to study for organic chemistry without you beasts messing up my study schedule?" she said angrily. "In the name of Mercury, I will punish you!" She half-bent her knees, her legs trembling with coiled-up energy ready to spring at the slightest attack.

"A Senshi, eh?" the lead policeman said in a muffled voice behind his mask. Then, "Shoot her!" The youma raised their submachine guns, preparing to unleash a storm of lead on Sailor Mercury.

Ami moved first. "Mercury Bubbles—BLAST!"

The dense, chilling fog removed the youma visibility and caused their shots to go wild. Ami charged at them, leaping lightly against the alley wall and launching herself into a spinning kick to knock away one of the youma's weapons. She landed heavily on her feet on the other side of the group; the youma turned around at once and fired frantically every which way.

Bullets whistled by her ears. She took off running in the opposite direction, brilliant bursts of submachine gun fire following her all the while. They may not have been able to see her, but the youma were still firing in her general direction for all they were worth, and bullets were bullets.

Deeper into the maze of alleys she went. Ami gambled and took a hard left into…a dead end.

Ami swore; her fog was beginning to thin out, and there was no place to go. The enemy youma rounded the corner after her and raised their weapons, seeing they had her trapped.

Mercury leapt forward towards the dead-end wall, somersaulting over the top of a wide dumpster and landing on the other side just in time to cover her ears as the youma opened fire.

Brutal, ear-shattering pings and pangs resulted as the youma hosed their weapons around, as if they had all the ammunition in the world. Sailor Mercury shut her eyes tightly. "They have to stop to reload sometime," she reasoned.

While two monsters kept her pinned down with machine gun fire, three more beasts began advancing toward her position, aiming to outflank and overwhelm her. Ami forced her brain to try to think of a way out. It didn't look good.

Her enemies weren't expecting the covering fire to stop suddenly. Turning around the youma leader swore when he saw his two troopers immobilized, each with an elegantly written ofuda on its body.

Behind them stood an angry Sailor Mars. "Why don't you pick on someone your size?" she snarled. "Mars Fire—IGNITE!"

Her attack came too quickly for the youma to react; in seconds, two more of them were smoldering heaps of ashes. The leader aimed his weapon at the Senshi of Fire and squeezed the trigger right as Sailor Mercury's boot knocked his hands up, diverting the deadly spray of lead.

The Senshi of Water gripped the surprised enemy's head with her forearms and gave it a brutal twist, breaking its neck. Its weapon clattered noisily to the ground, echoing off the walls.

"Thanks for the quick response, Sailor Mars," she said gratefully as she de-transformed.

Rei shrugged and blew a wisp of smoke from her fingers. "It's what I do. Are you okay?" Ami checked herself out and nodded. She looked at the destroyed youma. "It worries me, though—how did they get police uniforms?" Ami asked worriedly.

"They're stepping up their game," Rei agreed. "This isn't good. They'll be able to attack with more impunity, and blend in better too. It's a good thing you stumbled onto this, Ami."

"We have to let the others know about this when we see them. Let's get out of here," said Rei. As they emerged from the alley and continued walking home as if nothing was out of the ordinary, Rei spoke up again.

"You know, I was talking to Mina just now and she thinks we all need to unwind a bit next week."

"Oh? In what way?"

"You know…basically, we need to let loose a little. Fighting youma is hard work!" Rei said enthusiastically. Ami frowned. She didn't like what was being implied.

"I don't know; I'll probably have a lot of homework," she said shyly.

"Come on, I don't plan on drinking much either," Rei encouraged. "We're partying in Makoto's apartment. I'm bringing homemade sake! Come on—all work and no play is bad for a Senshi!"

Ami raised an eyebrow. "You've been spending too much time with Mina, I think."

"Whatever. You're coming to this thing if I have to knock you out with an ofuda and drag you there myself. Get your studying done this week, Ami. Next week…we party," the Senshi of Fire said with a gleam of excitement in her eyes.

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When Matt Sneider had found out he had gotten the interview with Goldman Sachs, he had started looking at their annual reports to prepare. You had to be able to have a somewhat intelligent conversation with an interviewer.

When he was invited back for the second-round interview with Goldman Sachs, he had picked up a Japanese dictionary and started studying it.

When he was invited back for the third round interview, he started looking at apartment prices in Tokyo. He also had started packing his bags.

Was it somewhat cocky on his part? Absolutely. But it turned out he need not have worried; to help with the transition into another culture, the company was picking up a good chunk of the rent for his apartment and offering tours and orientations left and right. Matt was grateful for it, as he had never been to Japan before—but to say he was excited was an understatement.

In those couple of weeks since he accepted the offer on the shooting range, he had told his family and closest friends about it and promised to stay in touch no matter what. Skype was particularly handy for this. Many of his relatives and friends had already known that he was applying for an overseas job, so they were somewhat prepared for it, but it was still tough for them to watch him go off into the sunset.

"The analyst program is a two-year stint," he told his parents. "I'll find time to come home on the holidays. I have no doubt it's gonna be an absolute blast working in Tokyo."

Hugs. Kisses. A couple of new suits. And off he went to the Land of the Rising Sun.

As expected, it had been quite a shock for a Midwestern American. Matt Sneider had been extremely grateful for directions on how to use the subway and what to eat that was "safe" for a western palate. It didn't help that Matt had never been a sushi eater.

The yen was also rather amusing for him. His eyes had popped open when he saw a 1000-yen note, but then he realized that that translated to about $10. "God help me," he muttered when that realization hit him. "It makes me feel ten times richer when I'm really not!"

His apartment was pretty basic—bed, bathroom, mini-kitchen, no roommates—which was definitely a plus. However, Matt spent very little time in it, as he was so caught up in the new culture that he wanted to constantly be out and about in it, with all the enthusiasm of a new graduate working for a top-notch firm in a big city. His attitude wasn't exactly one of smugness—but whatever it was, that description wasn't that far off the mark. It was one thing to sign your name on a contract that said you were moving to Tokyo for two years to work in finance, but once your feet were on the ground and you breathed the air—that was when it truly hit you that you weren't in America anymore.

Matt had never seen such a colossus of humanity—35 million people in Greater Tokyo, he had read. And the bustle—Matt had known some of it in Chicago, but never on a scale like this. Every karaoke bar was packed to capacity, every street-crossing had a long line of people waiting to cross, and neon signs with elaborate characters poured their light over everything. The striking lights heaved themselves into the sky, daring the night to challenge them.

One could just start walking around and still have an experience, even if you didn't plan on going anywhere in particular. And yet, in the constant motion, there were still islands of bright tranquility in the city's Shinto temples and Christian churches. It made Matt happy to see them still alive among the sleek modernity.

There was a week to get adjusted and shake off the jet lag from the 13-hour flight. Then it was time to report into work at 9am for his first day at Goldman.

Matt was led into one of the inner recesses of Goldman's Tokyo office, which was housed in a beautiful new structure of postmodern glass and steel. It even had its own plaza with a fountain.

This inner recess consisted of a central common area with a conference table and about 20 chairs. Leading off this room were several small offices with cubicles, computers and surprisingly comfortable chairs—which was appropriate, because Matt had heard that employees often spent the majority of their waking lives in them. Matt sat around the conference table with about two dozen of his fellow entry-level analysts, each impeccably dressed and eager to impress on their first day on the job.

"Welcome to Goldman Sachs and to Tokyo, ladies and gentlemen," an older banker strolled in and sat at the head of the table. "I trust everyone's settled in nicely. This area is your personal space; we sometimes call it 'the meat locker.'" A few chuckles went around the table.

"It might look pretty calm now, but we here at Goldman Sachs are hoping that you'll turn it into a crazy hive of activity soon enough. Once the deals start rolling in, this place will be humming 24/7. Remember, that's what we like to see when we hand out promotions and bonuses, so plan ahead."

The young faces around the table brightened at that comment. Sneider was itching to get started. The number of deals an investment bank could process was a major sign of how good it was.

"Each of you has his or her own desk, computer, file cabinet, and chair," the banker continued. "You'll be assigned to different deal teams, each headed by an associate. You'll get to meet them as soon as we break you up into teams. So, you four—" he swept his hand over a group that included Matt—"are with Jim Greenberg over here. Jim, why don't you tell them what they'll be working on?"

"Got a company called Shinzuo Forestry Products, looking to buy a paper company in Sapporo," Jim Greenberg said. "I'm gonna need an analysis on the structure of the financing behind it. I'll need a DCF for each company involved to see if we valued them correctly. And lastly, someone's gonna have to start planning out the pitch book and the presentation. Let's get started."

All the technical jargon aside, Matt was pumped. He had heard about the long hours and the hard work, and by God, he was ready to get started!

_3 hours later…_

"Matt, how are you doing with all that info I gave you?" Jim poked his head into Matt's cube. He stared at the massive pile of paper on the desk next to his computer, literally hundreds of pages of charts, graphs, summaries, and spreadsheets. It looked like enough information to open a museum, and Matt only had a full day to digest all of it with his analysis being due in two days.

"Jim, I…I don't know if I'm gonna be able to get through all this stuff in time," Matt said nervously. "I mean, you wanted this spreadsheet done by 6 tonight, but I honestly don't know what to look for. I haven't built a model like this since my corporate finance course back in junior year of college."

An understanding grin spread across Jim Greenberg's face. "I've been waiting for somebody to say something like that," the associate said knowingly. "This was the first test of your career—when to fess up and admit you're in over your head."

"Uh…Really?" Matt asked.

"Yup; I do it with all the first-time analysts." He took a few steps into the room. "Basically…" the associate grabbed the pile of papers, "basically, the only stuff you need to focus on is…this…this…and this too…" he began pulling out a few sections from the massive stack. When he was done, Matt was left with about a quarter of the initial information he had. It looked much more manageable.

"That's it?" the new analyst exclaimed in disbelief. "That's all I need to know to build a merger model in Excel?"

"Like 99% of the time," Jim said breezily. "Look, a big part of this business is cutting through the BS. The less of it you have to do, the more stuff gets done on time, and the less my Vice President rags on me for not having stuff done on time. You feel me?"

Matt nodded. "Sure. Thanks. I owe you. I probably would have been here till 3am reading all that."

"Oh don't get me wrong; there'll be plenty of nights like that," Jim told him. "You never know if a request will come in from the client asking for a completely different analysis due the next day, and you'll have to rebuild your model and the entire presentation for them from scratch. They don't care what time it is; they want it done. If it takes till sunrise, then it takes till sunrise. I hope you pulled all-nighters during college. That's why our hours are so long and unpredictable—client demands."

"I see."

"Not to mention all the meetings you'll have to attend during the day, which eats up a lot of valuable time…but whatever, I don't want to start by making too many recommendations. But I will say this—after our team completes its first deal—done well and on time, mind you—I'll pick up the tab for everybody for a night at The Empty Glass."

"Which is…?"

"It's a bar that has an American expatriate clientele," Jim explained. "Lots of good stuff; it's pretty popular among the bankers here. One day, you'll know the feeling. It's great finishing a giant project and then going there to get shit-housed on Stella."

Matt nodded, embarrassed that he wasn't really a drinker at all. But he wasn't about to admit that. "Sounds as if you've been going there for a while?"

The associate smirked. "Longer than I'd care to admit. But hey, it's living the dream, isn't it? Anyway, I'm gonna go check on the other analysts. You'll have that spreadsheet ready by six. Who knows? This'll be one of the few nights in your career where you'll get to go home before midnight."


	3. Chapter 3: Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast

_CHAPTER THREE – TOO MUCH, TOO YOUNG, TOO FAST_

If the youma decided they wanted to launch their ultimate assault on humanity at this exact moment, they would have succeeded in about five minutes.

How, you ask?

The defenders of the universe were all so drunk they couldn't tell which way was up.

"Hit me! Hit me…you stupid baka!" a red-faced Mina impatiently banged her empty shot glass on Makoto's kitchen table.

"God, stop being so loud, Mina…geez," Makoto slurred, awkwardly pouring her another "shot" that slopped around the glass. The Senshi of Love eagerly took it, tilting her head back theatrically, her long blonde hair flying as she downed the shot.

It was a scene of drunken revelry in Makoto's apartment, where she conveniently lived alone. Music blared from the radio. The girls tended to let themselves go pretty hard, but not too often, as university studies and fighting youma had to take priority. "You know what they say," Makoto observed grandly, throwing her arms out at the scene before her. "Work hard, play hard! Woo!"

First one bottle, then two bottles of Rei's homemade sake had disappeared between the five of them, Tuxedo Kamen being conspicuously absent for a trip to Singapore. Originally they had planned to go clubbing after pre-gaming at Makoto's, but it soon became apparent from everyone's state that they weren't going anywhere. A third, half-full bottle stood invitingly in the middle of the table, with five twenty-year-olds in varying states of inebriation staring at it.

"You know Mina…you oughta t-take it easy," Usagi hiccupped. "That's like…what, three-four in the past five minutes?" She tried counting them off on her fingers, decided she couldn't do it anymore, and gave up. The Moon Princess in human form slouched back in her chair.

"The table's all blurry from here…" Minako peered down.

"You're looking through the bottom of your glash," Ami slurred. "'Sh-like a magnifier."

The other Senshi couldn't believe how much the model student had changed with a few shots of Rei's sake. Sure, it had taken some convincing in the beginning, but the Senshi of Water was pulling her drinking weight so far—surprisingly enough.

"This shit's really strong tonight," Rei said, looking at the large bottle she had brought over. Her usually perfect raven hair had gotten messy and tangled; a pink flush spread around her cheeks. "Maybe I made it too alcoholic by accident. Oh well." She put the bottle back on the table right-side up and succeeded on the third try.

"My head's spinning…shhhhit, this is bad." Minako gripped the sides of her head with her hands and rested her elbows on the table. George Burns once said, "It only takes one drink to get me drunk. Trouble is, I can't remember if it's the fourteenth or fifteenth." The Senshi of Love had reached that limit. She was done.

"Well, that's one of us down, and this bottle's still half full," Rei mused, her eyes shining devilishly at the leftover sake. "What do you say, Usagi? Want to try to go shot for shot?"

Usagi's blue eyes blinked rapidly as she considered. It very obviously wasn't a good idea.

Rei glanced at Mina, whose head had fallen even lower onto her outspread forearms. "Sheesh Mina, it's a good thing you don't fight as well as you drink; otherwise we'd have to find a new Senshi of Love," she cracked.

Makoto glared. She knew they usually spoke their minds a lot more bluntly when they were drunk, but she didn't like what she heard. She let the sake do the talking.

"You…you know what, Rei? I'm friggin'…_tired _o'your shit," the tall brunette rumbled. "Why you always hafta be such a…"

"A what?" a roused Rei stood up quickly, wobbling dangerously before regaining her balance. The miko glared at her friend. "A what, exactly? I'll _torch _you."

"In the name of the Moon…_SHUT THE HELL UP!" _Usagi yelled. "Just…just sit down. I mean, life isn't that bad, is it?" The blonde hiccupped once again. Oblivious, she started to twirl awkwardly around the room; how she kept her balance will never be known.

In her happy dance, Usagi started rattling off exactly _why _she thought their lives were so perfect. "We've got…a kingdom on the Moon in the future," she practically sang/hiccupped. "Awesome powers…I've got the world's greatest boyfriend…and we all get to kick monsters' _asses _and look hot while doing it. What's…what's _not to love _about that?"

Usagi finally careened to a stop, steadying herself against the table with a smile that said, "Who, me? I'm okay."

"Shesh you, Ushagi," Ami mumbled, her eyes closed. One tiny pale hand was buried in her blue hair, elbow on the table. "Eashy for you to shay."

Everyone stared at her; even in their drunken stupor, they could see the mood had quickly gotten serious. Ami rubbed her hand back and forth through her short blue hair as she mused.

"You're the Moon Prinshesh…you're important…and the resht of us…s'like we're pawns in a chesh board," the genius sighed.

"Ami…" Usagi said. "I think…you've had a little too much…to drink."

"You guys are all…better…than me," Ami continued. "You're all prettier than I am…and my attacks are…fucking ushlesh. All I can do is just…sit there with my computer and…spray fog everywhere. I'm just the smart one…nothing more."

Her friends stared at her in silence. As the saying went, there wasn't a thing said while drunk that hadn't been thought while sober. They had never seen their friend so despondent. Even Rei had dropped into respectful silence at this point.

All except for Mina, of course. She practically threw her upper body across the table and latched onto Ami's forearm.

"Ami, don't s-_say _things like that," the blonde said about as seriously as she could given her state of mind. "We love you _so _much. You're _so _important to us. Look, I know—I'm the _love doctor_—"

Mina had stretched too far to stay upright. She tumbled out of her chair to the floor in the most ungraceful way possible, her seat following her in a clatter. Laughs broke out all around; even Ami joined in.

The mood now considerably lightened, Mina's friends hurried to help her up.

"I wish _Artemis _was here," the blonde said offhand. "He'd be so mad at me right now…he's off doing some _cat _thing…"

"You know, I think it's time we called it a night," Rei said somberly, making a good call for once to nods of agreement.

"I gotta go to the bathroom," said Mina, who hurried off.

Usagi stepped over to Ami, who was still sitting and looking more comfortable. Filled with compassion, the blonde tenderly laid both hands on the side of the genius' face, tilting her head up.

"You are a Sailor Senshi, a guardian of love and justice," the Moon Princess said soothingly, her eyes sparkling. "No matter what. We're all in this together. If I lost you or anyone else, I'd be devastated. Remember, Ami…never forget, that you are loved."

Usagi leaned over and gently kissed her Senshi's forehead. "And I'll be honest, I'm surprised you think the rest of us are better looking than you. _I _think you're pretty damn cute." Ami couldn't help but smile.

"Guys, where's Mina?" Rei asked worriedly, bringing them all crashing back to reality.

"Bathroom, I thought?" Ami said.

"She's not there…"

"What? How the…how'd she leave without any of us seeing?" Makoto asked.

"I don't know…because she's…Sailor V?" Usagi offered unhelpfully. "Besides, I'm sure she'll be fine. How much trouble could a drunken Senshi get into?" Three glares answered her question.

"Ami, get your computer out. We all wear those trackers for a reason. We've got to find her."

#######################################################

Mina "walked" (rather, stumbled) down the dark streets of Tokyo back home. She was still feeling incredibly dizzy and wasn't sure why she had left the apartment in the first place—she hadn't exactly been thinking.

"But what the hell? I'm Sailor V, bitch," she muttered.

As she continued "walking" in her drunken stupor, Mina came to the realization that at the rate she was walking, it would take way too long to get home. To correct this, she immediately decided to fling herself into a run so she could move faster.

Which didn't end well.

For the second time tonight, the Senshi of Love fell to the ground. At least there was someone to help her up.

Only it seemed as if he was handling her rather roughly…

"Wait a—hic—second—" she started to cry for help, but Mina found herself being dragged toward a dark blue van parked on the side of the road. She reached for her transformation pen.

"Get it—get the pen, you idiot!" one of the kidnappers hissed. Mina found her hand closing on air.

Three or four…people? Youma?...shoved her into the van's back compartment. She felt something close over her mouth; she struggled to breath; couldn't. Felt something pulled over her head…suddenly she felt very sleepy. And being that she had had quite a lot to drink, it seemed only natural that she should sleep it off so she would feel better in the morning…

"What do they call that stuff again, boss?" an underling asked as they proceeded to tie up the captured Senshi.

"Ether," said the driver simply. "Quick. Efficient. Just as we are supposed to operate."

"These human forms are getting uncomfortable. Can we de-transform now?" At his nod, the four kidnappers seemed to melt, their skin falling away to reveal their gray demonoid faces. They stretched their leathery gray hands and shook out manes of long, disheveled black hair. Their pointed faces were permanent expressions of cruelty as they eyed their prey.

"Lucretius," one of them said to their driver, "What are the next steps, now that our…lovely little friend is in our custody?" The speaker revoltingly licked his lips.

"You will do with her whatever, and whenever, I tell you," was the curt response.

The driver, who was clearly running the operation, wore a terrifying black and white kabuki mask that covered his face. Menacing black curves struck around the eyes, curving around the cheekbones. The expression on the mask was one of pure rage, the face set in a permanent howl of anger, designed to inspire mankind's oldest emotion: fear.

He was dressed in heavy black robes, with a greasy rope tied around the waist. On the dashboard was his round-brimmed brown hat that looked like something Freddy Krueger might wear. The brim tapered to a point towards the front, letting the hat cover his face if Lucretius so wanted.

"Search her," Lucretius commanded deeply. "There should be a tracker on her body somewhere. When you find it, destroy it…and be _very_ thorough," he finished with relish. They continued to drive into the night.

#########################################################

The Empty Glass was like a tiny pocket of loud, smoky, Americanism in one of Tokyo's business districts. At any hour of the day, dozens of Westerners, both local office workers and tourists alike, could be found drinking. Especially if you were a deal team at Goldman Sachs who had just completed the grunt work on your first piece of business for the firm—which meant it was time to let go and party hard.

"That was one hell of a project, guys! Work hard, play hard!" associate Jim Greenberg joyfully ordered another round of tequila shots.

Matt Sneider grimaced. He had never been fond of the stuff. He had never been fond of drinking, period—even in college. When the first two rounds had been ordered courtesy of his immediate boss, as promised, Sneider had taken them just to be polite. But it was clear there was a long night ahead of him.

When the shots arrived for the group, Jim announced, "Sneider—you propose a toast this time. What are we drinking to now?"

Sneider thought briefly. They had already had two toasts, one for "living the dream" and the other for "doing God's work." He wanted to say something proud, but not too obnoxious.

"Here's to…a year of kicking ass and taking names," he said confidently, raising his shot glass. Cheers of agreement went all around as the tequila disappeared. "Good man," Jim Greenberg commended, biting into a lime wedge.

Sneider smirked as he felt the tequila's warmth spread through his stomach. "I know," he said smugly. The alcohol was clearly starting to affect his head a little bit.

"I have to say though, when we had to redesign the entire presentation with the new numbers and re-do all the spreadsheets, that was pretty clutch on your part," the associate continued. "Am I right, guys? It took you only, what, half an hour to do all that?"

Matt shrugged enthusiastically, more from the alcohol than anything else. "What can I say, guys? Today the planet, tomorrow the universe!"

Matt Sneider was proud to work in finance, but when he had a few drinks it became much more extreme; if anyone had heard him talking like that in real life, he would probably get his ass kicked. But not when he was sitting around a table with seven other members of the same bank who were just as proud, if not more, to be where they were.

However, few people ever discussed how close one got with one's co-workers on this job. Since they spent the lion's share of their lives in the office, close bonds developed rather quickly. In fact, Matt thought that in some ways it was a lot like college. Only they were making a bit more money now than they had then.

As Jim motioned for another round of shots (Jagermeister this time), Matt shook his head quickly. His forehead felt dense, and his stomach was wondering exactly what the hell he was putting into it. He wished he was on the shooting range with his uncle; he already missed his favorite hobby.

Jim clapped him on the shoulder. "What's the matter man? Need help holding your liquor? We aren't even on four shots yet!" The other analysts laughed.

The liquor continued to flow. Luckily for a lightweight like Matt Sneider, the time in between ordering shots increased, giving him a little time to recover before peer pressure forced another ounce down his throat.

They don't call alcohol "the social lubricant" for nothing. About an hour later, everyone around the table mysteriously seemed a lot more willing to share some…interesting thoughts.

"I'm telling you man, I have no idea how it happened," Jim said loudly. "I just woke up on the floor of my office in the suit I was wearing the day before, my head resting on a pile of printer paper, hurts like a bitch—NO IDEA HOW I GOT THERE. Talk about being bitch-slapped by reality!"

"And the VP didn't care?" another analyst, Alex, asked in disbelief.

"Ha, that's the best part!" Jim said. "My VP comes in, wearing a giant pair of sunglasses, holding his head, carrying like 3 containers of orange juice—"

"He got shitfaced the night before too?" Alex laughed crazily.

"Exactly! We just kinda looked at each other and said, 'Long night?' Nothing happened! Lucked out big time," Jim finished.

"Best cure for a hangover," an analyst said importantly. "Ready? Gatorade, huge greasy breakfast, college football, long nap. Repeat. That's it."

"I don't know how likely it is we're gonna get college football in Japan, dude," Matt pointed out.

"Who cares about college football? We all know what the best thing is…Japanese high school girls," a very drunk analyst point out. "They're everywhere! It's like…and those skirts…whoa…does this make me a bad person?"

"Being that they're underage—yes, that does make you a bad person, sicko," Matt snapped.

"Sneider, easy now," Jim intervened. "He's just drunk off his ass; he doesn't know what he's saying. He's probably just upset because he doesn't know how tell his girlfriend back home he only likes Asian girls now," he joked. A round of laughter followed.

"I'd be pretty upset too, if I was a fuckin' pedophile," a red-faced Matt Sneider grunted angrily. He fumed quietly for a few minutes, staring at his glass. Some people just really disgusted him.

"I'll tellya what'll make _me _upset," said another member of the group. "Busting my ass back home in another industry for half the pay." Groans and shudders filled every person in the group; it was time for another shot...

#########################################################

"Shit, is it closing time already?" asked Jim incredulously. "Damn, we've been here like forever! Come on guys, let's let them close up…"

Matt took a taxi home to his apartment, his head spinning from the copious amounts of liquor. He could barely walk straight. He stumbled into his kitchen and slowly drank a large glass of water. When he had chugged it, he held his head. The red glare of his clock read: 4:13 am. He shut his eyes, knowing that he would be ready to go on a rampage when morning came.

"Geez, for God's sake, who parties till 4am on a weekday?" an irritated voice that definitely didn't belong to Matt Sneider announced.

The analyst glanced around in his stupor, turning every which way to find the voice. His eyes finally settled on a white cat with a crescent moon on its forehead sitting on his couch. Even though he was almost completely out of his mind at this point, Matt Sneider knew that this animal hadn't been here when he had left for work earlier today.

"Look, are you still too out of it to even think right now, or should I just come back later?" the cat spoke.

Matt Sneider stared in astonishment, reeling back in shock. "What the _fuck_?" he cried out, bumping loudly into his kitchen table.

"Not so loud; you'll wake the neighbors," the cat instructed. The two of them looked at one another for a long time. Finally Sneider shook his head in disbelief and started to get ready for bed. "This isn't happening," he muttered. "Apparently, when you mix copious amounts of liquor and Japanese food…coupled with sleeping about nine hours over the past three nights…and chug a glass of Tokyo water…you get LSD."

Artemis hung his head. This wasn't going to be easy.


	4. Chapter 4: People Are Strange

_CHAPTER FOUR – PEOPLE ARE STRANGE_

"Look, will you _please _just hear me out?" Artemis asked Matt Sneider as the analyst made a big show of changing into pajamas and pointedly ignoring him. The cat wondered whether he should come back another time and whether Mina was looking for him. But if she was partying with her friends, it would be a miracle if the Senshi of Love remembered anything. And anyway, Artemis had spent too much time waiting here in this guy's apartment to just leave now.

"I'm not listening to you," Matt muttered. "You're obviously some kind of hallucination. I'm in some messed-up dreamlike state because my fuckin' brain doesn't know left from right from too much alcohol, and I'm going to fall asleep now because that's what you do to wake up from a dream. Good night."

"Eh?" Artemis raised an eyebrow. Even in a normal frame of mind, this guy would have a hard time digesting what Artemis was about to tell him. But he had to try. He decided to take the dream idea and run with it.

"You're absolutely right. This is a dream," Artemis said. "I'm not real. So it wouldn't hurt if you listened for a while, right?"

"So, any minute now I'm gonna wake up on the floor of my office, with my head resting on a pile of printer paper and no idea how I got there?" he slurred. "Oh wait, I have to make it to Associate rank before I do that…"

Artemis rolled his eyes. This guy was out of his mind! He was worse than Mina!

"This is a dream. My name is Artemis, and I'm here on behalf of the Sailor Senshi."

"Sailor Senshi?" Matt repeated as he brushed his teeth with laborious effort, blinking furiously in the mirror. "Never heard of that firm. Do they have a good bond trading desk?"

"Would you _stop _interrupting me? It's rude," Artemis snapped. "Just because you're in a dream, you think you can…just for God's sake, look on the table."

Resting there was a black gun belt with two beautiful-looking pistols in it; they reminded Matt of the Desert Eagle. One was a gleaming silver color, the other one black as black could get. Each gun had a smooth grip that looked the perfect size for Matt's hand. The long square barrels stretched out menacingly, while a mini-sight graced the end of each weapon. A crescent moon was carved into the side of each one, and strange runes lined around the grip. The guns almost seemed to glow, inviting someone to pick them up.

"One gun for each side of the Moon," Artemis explained as Matt walked over to the table for a closer look. "You see—"

"Have you, by any chance, been listening to any Pink Floyd lately?" Matt mused as he ran his hand over the cold metal.

"Wh-what? No! What the hell kind of a question is that?" Artemis said, losing patience.

"Come on, man—'Dark Side of the Moon?' I'm not stupid."

Artemis visibly and audibly composed himself, taking a deep breath and muttering something about where Luna found the patience to do stuff like this.

"The point is, these guns are now yours under a certain condition," the cat said.

"And what condition is that?"

"The Sailor Senshi are a group of magical warriors who fight against the youma who are trying to hurt innocent people. It is their destiny to rule a kingdom of paradise on the moon, many thousands of years into the future. You're going to help them meet that destiny. These guns must be wielded by someone; all we ask is that you use them in defense of love and justice."

"'Love and justice?'" Matt sneered. "What is this, some kind of hippie commune?"

"The survival of the human race is at stake," Artemis said seriously.

"I…this is crazy," said Matt, removing his hand from the guns as though afraid they might bite him. "I'm dreaming; you told me I'm dreaming. This isn't real, what's happening right now."

"…I, uh…" Artemis realized he had dug himself into a hole. Dammit, why hadn't he planned this out better? "Look, these guns are magical, alright? They're strong against the youma that you're going to have to fight. I don't make up the rules; the weapons just appeared to me. I have to bestow them on someone, and congratulations, you're elected."

Matt scoffed. "I think you've got the wrong…guy," as he fell into bed and started snoring, his body refusing to allow him to stay awake for more chat.

Artemis swore. Luna would have his head for explaining everything so abstractly, especially for someone as shitfaced as Sneider was right now. When those two weapons had appeared to him in a flash of light, it was clear both to him and Luna that destiny was giving them a choice. They had to find someone who knew how to use them, so that he might offer the Senshi some aid.

Of course, destiny was silent as to exactly to whom the guns belonged, so the two cats had decided on the "Random search" option. To be honest, Artemis only had the slightest hunch when he had first observed Matt Sneider walking into the Goldman Sachs headquarters. It was far from the certainty he had felt when finding the Senshi themselves; then, their auras had lit up like a Christmas tree, leaving no room for error.

This guy's aura was so muddled with gray that Artemis didn't know what to think. Matt Sneider's was only slightly clearer than the other humans around him, and if Artemis didn't have that hunch of his, he would have given up almost immediately. Neither Luna nor Mina knew he was here in Matt's apartment. And if Luna knew he was wasting all this time just following a slight hunch on something so uncertain, she would claw him up instantly.

Luna didn't have all the answers either, but she was convinced that destiny threw certain situations into their paths that would leave it up to humans' free will to join with the Moon Kingdom or not. Paradise on the Moon wasn't etched in stone, no matter how much they talked about destiny. In these situations, there would be an opportunity to move that Moon Kingdom closer to fruition or farther away.

In circumstances like these, Luna believed, mankind would show his true colors and make a conscious choice for good or evil. Doing nothing wasn't an option. Whoever held the guns would have to make the same choice. The weapons were a gift that could potentially do great good or great harm to the Sailor Senshi. It all depended on the person.

Arrogant, rude, obnoxious, unable to hold his liquor—not exactly traits that the Senshi were looking for.

Matt Sneider had made a terrible first impression. But Artemis was determined not to give up. He would just have to throw Matt Sneider into a situation that would force him to take sides.

And in that moment, they would all see whether he had potential to join with the Senshi.

#########################################################

"What is it?" Lucretius glanced up irritably from what he was working on. An underling stood there in the doorway. It glanced curiously at the partially-completed black sphere that floated in front of his boss' chair. The orb was about the size of a basketball and looked as if a large bite had been taken out of it. It crackled with black and purple energy and had an eerie, neon blue halo around it.

"…I was just wondering, sir, when to tell the troops to implement part B of the plan."

Lucretius sniffed through his black and white, demonoid kabuki mask and stared at the youma trooper. "The Senshi haven't gotten wind of where she is? You've destroyed the tracker?" the commander asked.

"Yes, sir. It was hiding in that ridiculous bow she wears on her head."

"Excellent. This will buy us time. For the Senshi are still human despite their powers, and they cannot locate what will not be found," Lucretius mused. "Part B will go into action…not tomorrow, but the night after. Find out where they meet, and we will contact them about our…ransom."

"Understood, sir," said the underling. "But, if I may, sir—"

"Yes?"

"Why not move sooner?"

"Tomorrow, I have some…personal business to attend to," the youma leader returned his attention to the crackling black orb in front of him. "Leave me."

When the soldier had departed, Lucretius grunted. "The cloak and the dagger. Fools…this is more important even than capturing all the Senshi in one fell swoop." He gazed lustfully at the device before him. "It's almost finished," Lucretius muttered sadistically.

########################################################

"What do you mean, she never came home, Artemis?" Makoto looked as if she wanted to strangle the cat. She, Ami, Usagi and the two cats were talking outside during lunch at school the day after the party at Makoto's apartment. Minako hadn't shown up at school, and Artemis had just told them that she wasn't at home. His late night rendezvous remained a secret. Not one of them looked happy.

"I mean she never came home last night!" said the frightened Artemis. "I waited till sunrise, and I swear I thought Mina spent the night at your place!"

"How did you girls let her out of your sight if she was that drunk?" Luna demanded, sounding like the annoyed mother she always seemed to channel.

"We tried! Ami tried zeroing in on her locator so we could find where she was, and there was no signal!" Usagi tried to explain.

"No signal? Well, _that _should have clued you in that something was wrong, don't you think?" Luna said angrily.

"We thought she fell on it and broke it or something!"

"I'm very disappointed in all of you," Luna said. "It's shameful. You're supposed to watch out for each other. Mina could be in terrible danger now! She could have been kidnapped, or worse! And all because you girls just don't know how much is enough! WHY can't you take this job seriously?"

Each of the three girls looked absolutely crestfallen. Ami looked at her computer with a strange face, as if confused that it had let her down. "What are we going to do?" she whispered quietly. There was silence. Even if Rei had been present, there probably would have been more yelling, but still no idea of what to do.

Artemis decided to let out what he was planning. It was the only mildly positive thing they had going for them at the moment, and it was better than sitting around staring at each other and pointing fingers.

He explained everything that had been going through his mind of late, about how the guns had appeared to him and Luna and his hunch that someone new would be available to help them, and that possibly, just possibly, that person might be able to help them find Mina.

"What makes you think this person has what it takes?" asked Luna.

"Tonight, I'm going to test him," Artemis announced. "I'm going to put him in a situation where he must consciously choose to join us or run away. If he joins, well and good. If not, then we'll give the guns to someone else."

"What exactly are you going to do?" Ami asked.

"Well…let's just say…it'll involve…putting one of you in mortal danger, and he'll be the closest one available to help," said Artemis.

"And who do you think that's gonna be?" Makoto demanded, crossing her arms and drawing herself up to full height. "Because it sure as hell won't be me. I'm no damsel in distress, thank you very much!"

"Well…seeing as none of you probably want to do it…and judging by who isn't really here…if we all try really hard to make it look natural, this can work." Artemis concluded. "Be vigilant tonight, Sailor Senshi. I'm going to go to his office later to give him the guns. You'll most likely get a phone call very late in the evening about the results." 


	5. Chapter 5: One Night of Sin

_CHAPTER FIVE – ONE NIGHT OF SIN_

Matt Sneider nearly choked on his mouthful of noodles as fellow analyst Alex clapped him very hard on the back. "What's the matter man, had a bit of a rough night?" He and the others joined in a round of laughter, and Matt found himself joining them.

"I'm telling you, that's the _last _time I'm drinking that much tequila in one sitting," Sneider said through his food. He swallowed and wondered how it was possible that his friends had all been out just as late as he had, and yet somehow showed up to work and still managed to be productive? He had known they would pay for their night of revelry, but not this hard.

The analyst crew had commandeered a conference room at the office and ordered dinner before they started the night's work. After 6:30pm was actually when they got the most work done. The pointless meetings Jim had pointed out to them took up a lot of the day, which meant that the work had to be pushed later and later.

Some guys partied hard their whole lives and knew how to handle themselves the morning after, or least found ways not to show it. Matt Sneider was not one of those people. He felt terrible and his head pounded, though it was not as bad as the first meeting of the morning, when he had managed to keep himself awake only by jabbing himself in the leg with a pen.

"Dude, you can barely even lift your chopsticks," laughed Jeremy.

"Man, don't even—I heard people say stuff last night that would get them arrested back home," Matt retorted.

"True that, Sneider. We ain't in Kansas anymore."

"No kidding, Captain Obvious."

By the time the meal had ended and everyone had vented at everyone else, Matt dragged himself back to his desk, intending to shotgun the last can of Red Bull he had brought with him to power through the day (he had started with four).

He certainly wasn't expecting to see the white cat from last night's dream sitting on his desk with two guns next to it.

Matt couldn't believe his eyes. He rubbed them frantically, wondering, whether the lack of sleep was causing him to hallucinate. "What the _fuck _are you doing here?" he whisper-shouted. "You're not even real! What the—"

"Don't speak; listen," said Artemis. "Last night wasn't a dream; it was real. These guns are yours. I'm putting them in your briefcase. When you leave work tonight, I'm going to follow you. There's something you need to do, and I'm not going to leave you alone until you do."

"Sneider, who the hell you talking to?" Jeremy called from down the hall. He poked his head into the room. "You okay man?"

Matt turned to him. "There's a—" as he turned to point at the cat, he saw that Artemis and the guns had disappeared. "Never mind," he said quickly. "I guess the lack of sleep is getting to me, huh?" he chuckled.

Jeremy nodded. "Damn straight. You gotta power through these last few hours, and maybe we'll get to go home early—and by early, I mean between 12:30 and 1:00 in the morning." He turned and left to work on a pitch book.

Matt sat down shakily at his computer and realized he had never felt more tired in his entire life. What was going on? Talking cats showing up at his office? Overpowered girls fighting monsters? Magical guns from the moon? It was like a giant psychedelic mind trip. He glanced down into his open briefcase, where the metal barrels glinted in the glare from the office lights. And just what exactly was he supposed to do tonight, anyway, other than make his best attempt at getting some work done?

#########################################################

Five hours later, Matt Sneider closely resembled a zombie as he exited the building at long last. His computer had been shut down, the spreadsheets checked and encrypted, the necessary emails all sent. A typical night for a banking analyst, except for the extra weight in his briefcase that was two Moon guns that a friggin' _talking cat _had given to him to help in some mythical struggle for love and justice.

"God, how'd I get into this?" he muttered.

"You'll know by the end of the night," came a voice from near his feet. Sneider looked down and saw Artemis walking silently by his side. The analyst sighed. He was too tired to even think straight, let alone respond. He continued walking home, taking his usual route. The streets of Tokyo's financial districts were usually pretty empty at this time, but Matt knew that the party was probably just getting started in some of the other areas.

The feline went over his plan for what felt like the thousandth time in his head. Putting one of the Senshi in danger was a risky plan indeed. He thought about how to steer Matt toward the appropriate situation. In his over-exhausted state, the poor guy would probably listen to anything.

"You know, I took a few different side streets when I went to your apartment the other night," he said cautiously. "It'll probably get you home faster so you can get some shut-eye."

Matt shook his head slowly. "Fine, whatever," he muttered, turning to follow Artemis off the main drag. He could barely lift his feet, his loafers ever so lightly dragging along the ground.

Only a few blocks away, Sailor Mars was fighting for her life.

She leapt out of the way of a youma blade strike that took a big piece out of the concrete wall behind her. The monster had sleek green armor, with a thin, metallic body and spinning scythes instead of hands.

Rei rolled left and jumped to her feet, readying an ofuda as she did so. She flung the spell at the beast, only to swear as it easily sliced away the charm with its blade.

The Senshi of Fire reacted quickly, lashing out with her other hand containing an ofuda, trying to tag the monster while it was caught off guard. But the youma moved quickly. Soon, her second paper was sliced in half, falling harmlessly to the ground. Rei grunted in annoyance and dodged frantically backward as the monster hacked and swiped at her vulnerable body.

The youma took a big cut at her head; Sailor Mars dropped to the ground and kicked out with all her strength, hitting the armored youma in the knees. It staggered back a few steps, giving her time to charge up a fire attack.

"Mars Fire—IGNITE!" A screaming blast of fire hurtled toward the beast, who took a swipe at it with one of its claws, as if trying to hit a baseball. Flames engulfed it, making Rei smirk in satisfaction.

Her grin disappeared as she saw the monster emerge from the flames, its armor blackened but otherwise untouched by her attack.

"Where the hell are the other Senshi?" she muttered angrily. "I need help here, dammit." She had put out the alert signal as soon as she saw the youma, but none of her comrades seemed to be in the area. It looked as if she was on her own, at least until help arrived.

Looking to hold back the youma from advancing, Rei withdrew even more ofudas and flung them as fast as she could, trying to aim for a different spot each time, hoping that just once she'd catch the beast off guard. But the youma seemed to read her mind, carelessly cutting aside each one in seconds.

Rebounding to her basic attack, Rei launched another fireball at the monster, which it blocked. She grabbed a nearby garbage can lid and hurled it at the monster like a discus. "Too bad this isn't a tiara," she grunted as the lid left her hands.

The monster refused to go down lightly. With a high-pitched shriek, it hacked through the projectile, splintering the metal into several pieces that fell around the alley with a loud clang. The youma grinned sadistically and rubbed its blades together with a horrid scraping noise. It knew that Rei's attacks were useless against it. Its menacing blades gleaming, the monster advanced on the helpless Senshi of Fire.

"What was that noise?" Artemis asked Matt as they continued walking.

"Who cares?" came the tired, irritated reply.

The cat ignored him and darted toward the noise. "I think it's coming from over here," he said pointedly, trying to steer the analyst toward the commotion.

"Nope. I'm not following you," Sneider said automatically, continuing to walk away.

"But…but someone's in trouble!"

Matt Sneider grimaced and stopped walking. He sighed and lowered his head. Couldn't he possibly get a break tonight? Artemis was standing near the entrance to a wide alley, where Matt could hear the sounds of fighting. "I don't want to get involved," he reiterated.

"Might I remind you that you have two magical guns at your disposal?" Artemis said. "Look, you don't have to intervene, just come over here and take a look, and then if you want to walk away, I promise I won't stop you."

With every step feeling like an angry stomp, the analyst joined the cat at the alley entrance. He had never seen such a strange sight in his life.

A pale girl in a red skirt was trying to beat the crap out of a blade-toting monster! And it didn't look as if the fight was going in the girl's favor. In fact, it didn't look good at all. The monster had a height advantage and was slashing away with two massive blades; the girl was dodging every which way to avoid being cut. Her attacks, meanwhile, seemed to do little or nothing against the monster's heavy armor.

Matt stared in incomprehension. "What the…what the hell is going on here? This can't be happening," he said.

"I assure you Sneider, it is happening," said Artemis. "Now look. You have two magical pistols in your briefcase. You are free to use them or not. If you do, you will have saved her life. Or you can walk away, and she'll die. I leave it up to you."

"Is this what you wanted me to do when you came to my office?"

"All I ask is that you make a choice." With that, Artemis fell silent and watched Matt Sneider. He had done this so many times; everyone was different. Seeing what someone would do when faced with a situation like this would give him a true sense of the man's character. Sure, it was a drastic way to do it.

The thought process was always so interesting to watch; it was visible on the person's face as they considered what to do. He could almost always tell from the person's body language.

"The first part is always denial," Artemis thought. "That has happened already. I've told him it's real, and he can see it, touch it, and hear it. That means he goes straight to part two…"

Artemis could see Matt's face contort in thought and knew that the analyst was considering running away. The "fight or flight" option, the impulse humans have had since the days of cavemen. Self-preservation tended to be the first thing on the person's mind. And why not? As far as Matt was concerned, he had nothing to gain from this fight. Usually Artemis could tell, as the person would glance around looking for exits, as Matt was doing now. Yes, fleeing the problem was as tempting as it ever was. Nevertheless, his feet didn't budge.

That wasn't a bad thing, but not necessarily a good thing, either. It could mean indecision, which was the worst possible outcome as far as Artemis was concerned. Just stand there. Freeze. Do nothing. No matter how much he stressed that that was never an option, so many people were content to do it anyway. Can't be held responsible if you just do nothing, right?

He watched Matt's face as the analyst considered the second option: intervene. He did have the guns close at hand. A look of calculated worry was on Sneider's face now. "Obviously, he's weighing the risks, whether it's worth it to risk his own life for that of a complete stranger," the cat observed mentally. "It would be easier if it was a close friend or relative, but a complete stranger…now that is a true test."

Artemis continued to watch his suspect's body language. Matt's fingers were twitching. He was blinking furiously; his breathing had sped up. He clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly. He understood the gravity of the situation—someone's life was in danger. The adrenaline was pumping. Good signs that he was about to take some kind of action…but would it be for the better, or worse?

All this took place over the course of about half a minute. Artemis fought the urge to cry out in joy as Matt reached down into the briefcase and withdrew the black and white guns. He stared at the shiny, otherworldly steel, feeling their weight in his hands. The night pressed in around him, eager to watch what would happen. Sneider kept the guns at his sides, staring at the fight scene before him.

"Ah, yes," Artemis thought to himself. "The last-minute second-guess. Having come to a decision, there's always that last little hint of distrust…usually not a problem, but every so often…"

Artemis' thoughts ended as the crack of both guns filled the air and blinding white bullets shrieked toward the unsuspecting youma, who was preparing to strike at Rei. The lunar ammunition struck home, penetrating the green fireproof armor just below the waist. The monster roared in pain and surprise, whirling around to see its attacker.

Sneider fired again, hitting the monster in the shoulder and dropping it to the floor. Damn, he was really out of practice. Not quite the dramatic, "BOOM HEADSHOT" he had wanted. Uncle Ken would have smacked him for such inaccuracy! Nevertheless, the green youma collapsed the ground and, so it seemed to Matt, melted into the floor and disappeared. He realized he had been holding his breath; he released it in a heavy puff. "What the hell did I just do?" he wondered out loud.

"The right thing," Artemis told him gladly. "Now, let's go see if she's okay."

They ran down the alley towards a shaken Sailor Mars, who had collapsed to the ground with her back to the wall, as if resting. Her uniform was torn, and she had several large cuts. Rei's head was bent between her knees, and her breaths were heavy.

"Uh…hi," said Matt awkwardly when he reached her. He had heard stories about Japanese girls before, but this was beyond anything he had imagined. "What the hell is she wearing?" he wondered.

"Matt Sneider, Goldman Sachs," he introduced himself with his standard business greeting. He reached out to help her up, his eyes trailing downward along her bruised legs. "Nice skirt," he observed. Sneider couldn't help himself—he was a dude, after all.

The girl didn't take too kindly to that. She angrily slapped his hand away and heaved herself to her feet. "Could you have waited _any _longer before saving my neck?" she snapped at him. "What, did I have to get skewered like a stuck pig before you stop staring at my thighs and take some action?"

Matt let his hand fall to his side. "What's your problem?" he asked. "I just saved your life. What was that thing?"

"The less you know about it, the better," said Mars. "You need to forget about what you saw here and don't breathe a word to anybody else."

"Uh, Sailor Mars…maybe you shouldn't be so harsh," Artemis cautiously observed. The Senshi of Fire glared at him. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

Matt glanced between the two of them. "You two know each other?" he asked innocently.

"We…we're…" Rei seemed to struggle to find a complete sentence. She looked at Artemis, then at Matt, then back to Artemis. A look of comprehension dawned on her face.

"You SON OF A BITCH!" she roared at Artemis. "You planned this, you idiot! You and the others leave me on my own to face an overpowered monster just so some jackass in a business suit can have some target practice?"

Matt glanced pointedly behind him and saw _nobody _who fit that description. Was this a setup?

"Well…I…l-look, it worked, didn't it?" Artemis defended himself.

"Don't give me that, you furball! This is ridiculous! I could have died! And _you—" _she turned to Matt. "What exactly is so difficult about helping someone in need? What could you possibly have to think about before saving someone's life, huh?"

Sneider had no idea what was going on. All he knew was that he had just saved this girls life, and all she did was yell at him. He couldn't believe he had foregone half an hour of sleep for this. So he gave back as good as he got.

"A nice, 'thanks for keeping my ass from being clawed to pieces' might be more appropriate…skank," Matt snapped at the Senshi of Fire. He eyed her sailor fuku again with something akin to disgust.

Sailor Mars' balled fists erupted into flames. The crackling heat of the fire painted flickering shadows on her face, making it appear genuinely eerie. "Call me that again, and I'll incinerate you where you stand, you bastard," Rei threatened.

"So this is 'love and justice,' huh?" Matt sneered at Artemis, who was frantically trying to come up with a plan to neutralize the situation. "Please tell me it isn't always like this."

"No, trust me, it isn't," said Artemis. "She just insists on being difficult."

"In that case, why don't you just take my card and call me when you're ready to talk sense," Matt snapped, flinging one of his business cards at the two of them. "It's been a long day, and I have better things to do than listen to this crap. Good night."

He turned around and stalked out of the alley, heading back to his apartment for some sleep.

Before Rei could round on Artemis, the cat ordered, "Call the other Senshi, right now. We need to tell them what happened so we can make a decision. Meet at the temple in ten."

#########################################################

"So that's it," said Rei, sipping herbal tea from a traditional white cup while her friends looked on.

"Rei, that was kind of heartless on your part," Usagi frowned. "He passed the test, didn't he?"

"Y-yes, he did," said Artemis bravely, lightly leaping onto the table. "I can see that he has great potential for good."

"And just why, exactly, did you find it necessary to put my life in mortal danger to prove it?" asked Rei tiredly.

Luna took over. "Like Artemis said, he could have done anything at that point. He could have dropped the guns and run away, leaving you to your fate. He could have missed. He could have done anything—and yet he chooses to risk himself to save the life of a complete stranger. I think it's enough to give him at least another chance."

Makoto yawned and stretched. "I'm with you, Luna. I'd just like to meet him before we let him on that Mina is missing."

"I think it would be better, if there's still any doubt," Ami put in, "to ask him to help us find some leads. In a panic situation like that when someone's life is in danger, his action could have just been a fluke. But if we fill him in on what exactly we're looking for, we can see whether his intentions are truly good."

"Good plan, Ami," said a yawning Usagi. "Rei, give him a call so we can all get out of here and go back to bed."

##########################################################

Matt Sneider had heard stories about analysts who didn't want their bosses and managing directors to know that they had Blackberrys, because that would mean they would be called into work at anytime, even if it was the middle of the night.

So, after he had gone to sleep and was woken up by his ringing Blackberry, Matt wasn't all that surprised. It was still dark outside as he rolled over on his bed with his eyes half shut and answered it.

"Hello?" was his low, sleep-muffled voice.

"Hello, Matt Sneider. Do you know who this is?"

Sneider's eyes snapped open. He bolted upright in his bed, the blanket falling off his bare chest. "Sailor Mars," he said with a combination of recognition and anger. When he had said to give him a call when she was ready to talk sense, he didn't think it would happen so soon.

"Apparently the other Senshi have decided that you've made a good first impression," said a very tired Rei on the other line while her friends gathered around her.

"Well, I'm glad someone appreciates it," he said defensively. "Wait…other Senshi? There are more of you? Why are you calling me at…4:27 in the morning?"

"You're going to have to get used to it. The Senshi work odd hours. Evil never takes a break, and neither do we," she explained. There was a pause, during which Usagi motioned for her to continue.

"Based on your…performance tonight, we're going to take you up on your offer, because we need your help with something," said Rei, struggling to keep her tone civil. "The youma…the thing you killed tonight, it has friends, and they've taken one of our friends prisoner."

"Sucks to be her."

With a monumental effort, Rei composed herself and said, "Now that you've killed one of the youma, there's a good chance you'll run into some more. When you do, we want you to find out from them exactly what they're planning to do with her. They're planning something big, and we don't think it's going to stop with kidnapping one of us."

"…you want me to interrogate a monster? With what? Are you fuckin' kidding me?" a confused, sleep-deprived Matt could only reply.

"What we need is information," Rei snapped. "I don't care how you get it, Matt Sneider. Just get it." She would have hung up then and there, had Usagi not grabbed the phone from her hand, stood up, and walked outside with it.

"Matt? This is Usagi Tsukino; I'm the leader of the Sailor Senshi," she explained calmly. "Don't mind Sailor Mars; although she can be pretty abrupt, she always means well. I don't know you, but I want you to know that you have saved the life of one of my sisters tonight, even if it was kind of a setup, and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Which I'm sure deep down she appreciates—don't you, Rei?" she called expectantly into the room.

"…sure," came Rei's reply through gritted teeth.

"What I mean is, I think you are a good person," Usagi continued kindly. "It's just that, given what has recently happened with our friend disappearing, we have to be careful who we trust." The future Moon Princess glanced up at the Tokyo skyline over the temple railing; the sun was just starting to rise.

"Matt, have you ever seen sunrise from a Shinto temple in the middle of Tokyo?" she asked, her blonde hair waving in the morning breeze.

"No."

"Well, maybe soon you'll get to see it…it's a sight to behold," she said in wonder as the sunrise bathed her face in its glow. "If you can help us find Sailor Venus, we'd love to have you work with us."

Something about her tone seemed to calm Matt's nerves. He relaxed and lay back in bed. "Should I send you my resume?" he asked half-jokingly.

"No," Usagi chuckled. "I think we live…two lives. One secret, one public. No one can know about this. Do you understand?"

"Yes…Miss Tsukino." Matt automatically used his businesslike way of addressing strangers.

"Thank you so much for doing this. Have a good…day at work." The Moon Princess said goodbye and watched the sun rise for a few minutes while her friends joined her on the top of the temple steps. They may have been one less in number, but it seemed as if they were on their way to a recovery.


	6. Chapter 6: I Am the Law

_CHAPTER 6 – I AM THE LAW_

Dark purple streaks filled the night sky above the black, diamond-like surface of the mysterious planet. Bright shadows danced around the craggy hills, and the sky overhead shimmered with quiet grandeur. Stars showered down their magnificence. Lucretius scanned his surroundings intently, the scenery not affecting him in the slightest.

The youma leader wasn't here for the scenery. He was here for something else. He walked and walked, his black-robed form cutting a strange figure that knifed smoothly through the land. Lucretius descended into a foggy ravine, where his kabuki mask shielded his face from the dim light that shone around him.

Massive crystals sprouted from the ground. Light pink in color, each one had a dark space in its center—a human body.

Those who had betrayed or failed the Negaverse in any way were imprisoned here rather than killed outright, locked within these shards of glass to contemplate their failure for all time. Or until someone freed them. And with Queen Beryl now a pile of moon dust thanks to the Senshi, she was unlikely to free anyone.

Lucretius came to a halt in front of a larger crystal that contained a frozen body dressed in the deep purple that indicated high rank within the Negaverse military. "Yes," Lucretius whispered. "This will do nicely."

He extended one hand over the transparent crystal tomb, its shadow falling back over his face. With his other hand, Lucretius withdrew the black orb that he had been working on. Behind the mask, he shut his eyes and began to concentrate. Black tendrils began to uncoil themselves from within the crystal, entering Lucretius' body and flowing into the orb that occupied his other hand.

The officer inside the crystal may have been completely immobilized and maybe not fully sane at this point (who knew how long he had been there?), but he still knew when something was wrong. Energy was leaving the body; the eyes widened ever so slightly as panic began to take hold; were the crystal not thoroughly shackling him, he would have thrashed about wildly to fight him off.

Lucretius focused harder, his mouth tightening and his hand balling into a fist as he squeezed the last bit of dark energy from the dying officer. The prisoner's skin rapidly paled; the crystal dimmed. As the dark energy flowed into the orb, it slowly formed solid material that began to patch up the last bit that remained incomplete.

Right as the orb completed itself, there was a deafening _crack _as the massive crystal shattered and the prisoner's lifeless body toppled the ground, at last released from its wide-awake nightmare. Lucretius glanced down at the spread-eagled body and muttered, "I have done you a favor, comrade."

Then he turned to admire the object in his right hand. The black orb hummed with some strange inner power, as if happy to be whole again. A sinister gleam lurked within its inner recesses. Lucretius smirked behind his mask. "My part is done," he said. "Now it's time for the Senshi to make a move."

"Sneider!"

"Yeah?" Matt whirled around in his desk chair to look at Jim Greenberg.

"Just as a heads up, we're gonna need you to stay late tomorrow night to go to the printer," the associate told him.

"Okay. Wait…go to the printer? Meaning what?" the confused analyst asked.

"You know…you go to the printer," said Jim.

Matt's mind moved away from the spreadsheet he was working on at the moment. What was he supposed to do? He was already having a difficult enough time with this job; Sneider hated being out of the loop with the lingo.

"When you go to the printer, it basically means you have the night off," Jim explained. "So, when we've finished making the pitch book, the presentation and the other stuff the client needs to see, we get it professionally made with nice binding and all. They make a template that someone needs to look at so they get it perfect. That someone is you."

Matt looked at his immediate boss. "So, what do I do while I wait for them to make the template?"

"They never know how long it's going to take them. It could depend on how many other orders they have to complete. You could be there all night. I've seen it happen before."

"And what happens when it's done?" Matt asked.

"You check it over. And you give them the go-ahead to start printing."

"That's it?"

"Pretty much. Order food. Take a nap. Do whatever. No one cares as long as you're there."

When Jim left, Matt shrugged and returned to his spreadsheet, checking over his formulas and making sure he had everything he needed. He made sure to include the link to allow updates on the spreadsheet to show up on the presentation, where they were exported.

Sneider had found that he was getting better at the job, finally beginning to understand what was truly needed and what wasn't. A lot of it was Jim's quality advice, but Matt could see how quickly one could learn how to get things done quickly and easily, just like any other job. Sure, he was sleep-deprived most of the time, but he was somehow productive. It was so engrossing that he almost forgot about the strange events of the night before. What would he do if he saw another youma?

Hell, he never thought that monsters really existed. But was it really that surprising?

As he exited the Goldman building at 1:30 in the morning, Matt still hadn't really figured that out. He had killed some kind of monster the night before, gotten bitched out over it, and was then somehow invited back to do it again? Just how long had this been going on? And where did he fit into it all? How was he supposed to go back to a normal life now that he knew what he knew? Sneider frowned in concentration as he walked home down the empty Tokyo streets.

"Excuse me, sir," someone said.

Matt turned around and saw a policeman in full uniform following him.

"Is there a problem, officer?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to come with me, sir."

Matt Sneider had never had any run-ins with the law—unless shooting the crap out of a demonoid monster somehow counted as a criminal offense? His heart started racing. _This _was what his mom had worried about so obsessively with him working in a foreign country…

"I haven't done anything wrong!" he protested.

The officer grinned. "I'm afraid you have. You see, it may not have seemed wrong at the time…but you have gotten involved in something you cannot fathom. My colleagues and I know you've been contacted by the Sailor Senshi."

"What? How-how do you know about—I mean, I have no idea what you're talking about. I mean—they're my clients, confidentiality and all that," Sneider stammered out an excuse.

"Shut up and listen," the policeman snapped. "I don't care what you think about them or what they are to you. They're the most dangerous people alive right now, and we're hunting them down. Anyone observed in contact with them is automatically suspect."

"A bunch of twenty-year-old girls are the most dangerous people alive? Give me a break, Mr. Plastic Badge," Matt said, his ego taking over.

The policeman gritted his teeth. "I'm giving you one chance, you fool. You either stop helping them, or face the consequences."

"Don't give me this Tony Soprano thug shit," Matt snapped. "Who do you think you are?"

"I am your assassin."

Quick as lightning, the police uniform was gone, ripped in half and tossed aside to reveal a black-robed, ninja-like youma who threw a black knife directly at the analyst's head. "WHOA!" Matt flinched and ducked, covering his head. He felt the spinning blade pass harmlessly over his head.

Sneider quickly reached into his briefcase and pulled out his Moon pistols. He pointed at the monster. "Who's the assassin now, bitch?" he snarled. "ARRGH!" he yelled in pain, as the spinning blade that had flown past him had turned itself around and cut a gash across both of his wrists, making him drop the weapons. Blood immediately started pouring forth, running smoothly down his hands and dripping on the ground. Matt stared at his hands in stunned disbelief.

"Not so confident now, eh?" the youma smiled as the blade returned to its owner like a boomerang. "Fantastic invention. It will not stop attacking until it draws blood."

Matt quickly reached for his guns again; he reached them just as the youma assassin threw his blade and he blindly opened fire…

#########################################################

Sailor Mars glanced around the streets cautiously on the late-night patrol. Cryptic visions had kept her awake yet again, and sleep was evasive. So she did what she always liked to do to take the edge off: go out on patrol. Usually she went alone, but given that Artemis hadn't quite regained her trust after putting her in a trap by herself, Rei found a companion.

Sailor Mercury, awake for yet another late night of studying, answered her call "for a study break." The Senshi of Water followed steadily behind Rei, her blue goggles on. "What were your visions like that you couldn't sleep?" the genius asked.

Rei shook her head in annoyance. "I couldn't really make anything out. I swear, what's the point of being able to read through fire if I can never understand what it's trying to tell me?"

"At least it wasn't the terrifying premonition of doom that you usually get," Ami told her helpfully.

"Or I just need to stop drinking so much of my homemade sake," Rei muttered under her breath.

"Hm?"

"Nothing. It's weird though; when I can't figure something out, my brain just keeps turning it over and turning it over and thinking about it and—"

"Sh. Did you hear that?" Mercury interrupted. The two girls glanced around, looking for the source of the muffled thud that had stopped Rei's complaining.

Several more low, dull thuds in rapid succession reached their ears. Mercury pulled out her computer and tried to get a bearing on the location. "I'm not sure what it is, but it's coming from over here! Come on!" The two Senshi took off running.

#########################################################

Matt leveled the white Moon pistol at the diving knife, firing again and again to attempt shooting it down. His bleeding wrists protested angrily; the blinding white blast of the Moon bullets seared into the night. Alas, the demonic weapon was moving too quickly for him to draw a bead on it, and it dived and slashed at his face and body as he dodged back and forth to avoid its lethal cuts.

The youma policeman laughed cruelly. "It's no use, human. The blade has a mind of its own."

Like a boomerang, the youma blade hovered briefly at the far end of the street before zipping toward Matt once again. It followed a perfectly straight trajectory, aiming for his heart.

It was about chest level, heading straight for him, and Sneider realized he could get one shot off. He stared down the spinning blade and squeezed the trigger, aiming for the center.

The celestial bullet impacted the blade dead on, striking it a glancing blow the deflected it off course. Sneider cursed, realizing he hadn't quite hit it dead center where he had wanted it. But the shot did its job.

The blade spun wildly away from Matt towards the still-cackling youma, whose eyes widened in shock as he found himself impaled in the chest with his own weapon. The assassin sunk to his knees on the ground, gasping for air.

"Not quite how I intended it, but what the hell," Matt thought.

"_What we need is information. If you see another one…I don't care how you get it, just get it."_

Sailor Mars' words came back to him even as he watched the monster desperately cling to its life, its mission failed. Matt strode over to the dying monster and thought about what it could possibly know. Then he smirked. "I've always wanted to say something like this," he muttered before roughly grabbing the monster's collar.

"Alright pal, start talking," Sneider said theatrically. "WHO ORDERED THE HIT?"

"The hit? What are you talking about? Are you crazy?" the dying monster had the strength to be completely confused by Sneider's incredibly lame cop-movie line.

Matt shook his head. The tough-guy thing wasn't working. It wasn't like the movies, was it?

"Look, you—you and your friends kidnapped somebody, right?" Sneider asked, acting more like himself this time. "Where is she?"

"Ah, yes, the Senshi of Love," the youma whispered. "She's lovely."

"I'm sure she is; now where is she?" Matt asked again impatiently.

"What makes you think I'll tell you, you fool? As if it matters," the youma choked out, coughing up clots of its black blood.

Matt thought for a minute. He had never imagined being in a situation like this. How was he supposed to interrogate this thing, anyway? He was no torturer. Time for a different approach.

"Look, I'm not Jack Bauer or anything," the analyst explained, "but I'm thinking that if I shoot you in the head right now, it'll ease your passing…if you tell me what you're planning." He pressed the barrel of the black Moon pistol against the monster's forehead, hoping his display of bravado was working.

"What makes you think we care about the Senshi of Love? It's not _her _we're after," the beast rasped. "It doesn't matter whether you find her or not. Our master wants something else." A spate of coughing interrupted the monster's confession. "Don't ask what—it's precisely for situations like this that he doesn't tell us what he's planning."

"Well, that's convenient," Matt observed lightly.

"Though…he never could stop talking about a traitor within the Senshi ranks. One that would be open to his control. That's all I know—I'm just an assassin, for God's sake! I don't know everything!"

"A traitor, huh? Okay, thanks for your time. This has been useful. To be honest, the only reason I'm asking is because a really good-looking girl in a red skirt told me to," Matt said.

The youma's eyes narrowed in disgust. "Tell Rei Hino and her friends that they will never see us coming. We know more about them than they can imagine."

"Like what? Hello?" The monster had expired.

"Well, that's damn convenient," Matt muttered. "Why do they always last just long enough to spout out some cryptic message? Maybe this really is like the movies. I must be crazy." Then he turned to the youma body and shot a solitary bullet into the youma skull. "Just in case," he said out loud.

"Just in case what?" came a familiar voice from nearby.

"Man, this really isn't my lucky night," Sneider thought. "Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise," he said out loud sarcastically when he saw Sailor Mars' red fuku. He vaguely noticed another figure behind her.

"We _were _going to rescue you, if you needed help," the Senshi of Fire said. "But it looks like you survived…and have the wounds to prove it," noting his gashed wrists. "Is that job of yours getting to be too much to bear? Feeling depressed lately?"

"It's impossible to be depressed at Goldman Sachs!" Matt snapped, jabbing a finger at her. "You don't know what you're talking about, Rei."

"I—" the girl stopped before she could retort. Then, without warning, she violently slammed him against the wall of a nearby building, looking apoplectic. "What did you just call me?" she whispered dangerously. Matt winced.

"Uh…is it inaccurate?" he asked sheepishly.

"Tell me how you know that!" Rei yelled, shaking him. "You're not supposed to know that! Our identities are secret!"

"That…that _thing _on the ground said your name! If it helps, I shot him in the face right afterwards."

"Rei, stop it. He didn't do anything wrong."

Matt peered past Rei's angry face to the new speaker. She was dressed like Rei, except in blue instead of red. Sneider looked at her face. He thought he had seen it all, but…

Despite the current situation, despite all the insane events of the past two nights, despite the fact that he was being brutally interrogated by an angry girl for doing his job, Matt Sneider still had the mental capacity to stammer out the question that immediately sprung to mind upon first seeing Sailor Mercury.

"Why the _fuck _do you have blue hair?"

There was an extremely awkward silence; even Rei was stunned at his remark. Mercury blinked. "…it's natural," she finally replied. "Let him go, Rei. Can't you see he's hurt?"

Mars released the aggravated Sneider, who couldn't seem to stop staring at Ami's blue hair. Mercury stepped forward with her medkit and examined his still-bleeding wrists, which ached painfully. "I'm going to bandage you up," she told him before raising an eyebrow. "That is, unless you object to being treated by someone with blue hair."

"No objections."

As the Senshi of Water cleaned and dressed his wounds, Mars asked, "What else did you find out from the youma…other than that they somehow know about our secret identities?"

Matt winced as rubbing alcohol stung his cuts. "He wouldn't tell me where your friend is. Whoever his boss is, is pretty smart. He gives his lackeys no info about his plans so they can't give them away."

Sailor Mars snorted. "Typical. What else?"

"Oh, and he said that there might be a traitor in your midst…or words to that effect," he added as Rei's eyes widened in shock and Ami froze halfway through applying a bandage. "Are you sure?" Mercury whispered.

Mars turned away, placing both hands on either side of her head in exasperation. "This is bigger than we imagined," she said. "we have to get everyone together immediately."

"Everyone's asleep, Rei," said Ami, resuming her bandage wrapping. Mars lowered her head and sighed. "We'll have to meet before school starts, then," she said. She turned back to Matt. "You're coming, by the way."

"I am?"

"We need to figure out what this means and what to do about it. You heard it first, so you're coming."

"Done," said Mercury, standing up. Matt tested his fingers, looking at his newly-bandaged wrists. "Nice job," he muttered. "Feels better already." He glanced up at Sailor Mars. "You're welcome, by the way," he said. "I got information, didn't I?"

Rei blinked. "Yes," she said, as if unsure of what she was saying. "Yes, you did."

"We'll meet at…8am tomorrow…so, in about six hours," said Sailor Mercury. "I'll have to drag Usagi out of bed by her heels."

"Yeah, I don't have to be at work till 9 anyway; I'll just go straight there afterwards," said Sneider. "Where at?"

"Hikawa Jinja Temple," said Rei, handing him a card with the address on it. "And don't be late."

Matt tucked the card into his shirt pocket. "I'm never late," he said matter-of-factly.

#########################################################

Five hours of sleep, a Google Map search, and a shower later, a fully-suited Matt Sneider found the entrance to Hikawa Jinja. He held a large cup of coffee and a copy of _The Wall Street Journal: Asia Edition. _

He stood outside the entrance and admired it; he had always been a fan of East Asian architecture. It looked graceful, inviting and homely. Stepping under the gateway, he began walking up the marble staircase.

Sneider found himself in the deserted front courtyard. Two crows squawked noisily at the stranger. Matt suddenly felt a little out of place in his business attire. It was as if he was in another world, or another time.

"You're early," said Rei, emerging from a door in her red and white miko outfit. "Welcome."

She seemed in a mellower mood. This was, of course, a good thing.

"Good morning," said Matt, shaking her hand. "So this is what you look like in real life." He looked at her flowing robes and decided he approved. It was much more modest than the ridiculously short skirt he had first seen her in. "Although she did have killer legs…" he thought with a twinge of regret.

The miko nodded. "I'm a Shinto priestess-in-training."

"Cool. I like it here," said Matt. He nodded towards Phobos and Demos. "Are those crows yours?"

Rei nodded. "They're my companions. A lot of people find that strange, but…I like them." One of them cawed, seemingly in assent.

"Anyway, everyone else is actually here already," the miko told him. "Come inside." She turned and gracefully slid open the front door. Matt followed her to a large room with a low table and a phone, where three other girls were sitting.

"Everybody this is-?" Rei glanced at him expectantly.

"Matt Sneider, Goldman Sachs," Matt said by default and force of habit. He looked at the group. They all seemed pretty normal and nice enough. He wondered if that translated when they were in their different forms. Matt placed his coffee and his newspaper on the table. It was strangely like a lot of the business meetings he had to attend, as if they were the clients and he was the presenter.

"We met last night," said the girl with blue hair. "I'm Ami Mizuno."

"Makoto Kino," said a tall brunette, who stood up and gave him a strong handshake. "Glad to finally meet you."

"Likewise," he said.

The last girl stood up. Matt had never seen anything like her. Seriously, what was with this group and the strange hair styles? With a warm smile, Usagi Tsukino greeted Artemis' protégé. "I'm glad you're here," she said genuinely. "I'm Usagi Tsukino—" she was cut off by her huge yawn. "And, it's too early for me to be awake," she laughed it off.

"And she's the future Moon Princess too, so be aware of that," Makoto reminded him half-jokingly. Matt glanced at her, then back at Usagi. Shifting his briefcase to the ground, Matt awkwardly took a knee before the startled girl, bowing his head as if he was in an imperial audience. "Your Majesty," he said seriously.

The girls looked at each other, not knowing whether they should laugh. Was he joking? None of them could tell. Usagi herself couldn't contain a huge grin. "Oh, come on, get up," she said playfully. "I'm not the Moon Princess yet; that doesn't happen for another couple thousand years."

Matt raised his head, looked around, and seemed to realize he looked extremely awkward. He hastily climbed back to his feet and gave a nervous cough. "Right, it's just—anyway, should we get started?" he asked. Everyone sat down.

Matt took a large gulp of coffee. "So, one night this talking cat shows up at my apartment and gives me these." He held up the black and white Moon pistols and laid them on the table. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say they belong to someone here, and the cat was working with you guys."

The girls stared the weapons. They had never seen anything like them before.

He quickly recapped the previous night's events, recounting the monster's revelations word for word. "And that's it," he finished, elbows, resting on the table.

"Well, it doesn't seem we're any closer to finding where Mina is," Makoto frowned.

"Apparently, they aren't really interested in keeping her, according to the monster," said Matt. "He said it wouldn't matter if we found her or not."

"That doesn't mean we stop trying," said Usagi. "Without her with us, we're on less than full strength, and we can't have that."

"Obviously," said Makoto.

"And what's all this about a 'traitor'?" asked Rei.

"It can't be true," Usagi said urgently. "It just can't. No one sitting at this table would sell the others out. Nobody."

"Says the group that put one of its own in danger to 'test' me," Matt said. "Man, and I thought I had trust issues. You guys are more paranoid than Ozzy Osbourne!"

Rei buried her head in her hands. When would this guy stop putting his foot in his mouth?

"I think you were lied to," said Ami. "Our trust and love for one another is our strong point. It's one of the things the youma don't understand; it's how we've been able to beat them so many times in the past. So, if they find a way to attack that love…"

"—then they damage us," Makoto finished Ami's thought.

"Think about it, guys," Ami nodded. "The rumor doesn't have to be true; it just has to give us the perception that one of us might stab the others in the back. Perception is reality. And that impacts our trust, and by extension, our strength."

Matt found himself nodding. "Damn straight," he muttered. He had to admit, it was a good strategy.

"So you think it's a false rumor designed to impact us where it hurts the most," Usagi agreed.

The Senshi of Water nodded. "That's my intuition."

"Well, you've never been wrong before—you do have an IQ of 300 for a reason," Makoto laughed. Matt's eyebrows shot up.

"Nothing is more terrifying than that one of us would betray the others, and I know that will never happen," Usagi added. "I love you all too much to let it happen. Our future Moon Kingdom and the defeat of the Negaverse will depend on it. A future of love and peace is at stake."

Matt wasn't sure what struck him at that moment. Looking back on it, he would say that it was probably just a function of the full weight of the situation bearing down on him, everything happening all at once, assaulting his brain and finally succeeding in revealing itself as the new reality. This was his life now; the Senshi had just let him into their sphere, revealing their greatest strengths and their greatest weakness. He could no longer turn his back on them.

People don't like sudden abrupt change, no matter how good it might be for them. So, Matt's automatic defense mechanism kicked in, a final display of resistance before submission: he started laughing. Gently at first, then building uncontrollably into laughter bordering on the maniacal.

"What's so funny?" Rei demanded.

"You—can't—possibly—tell me—" he choked out, "that—this—is what's happening. That you guys all live together in a kingdom on the Moon two thousand years in the future, even though you're all my age—that I'm supposed to help you achieve that by shooting these random pistols everywhere—and that—bad guys come to Tokyo on a regular basis to get their asses kicked by girls in miniskirts," Sneider finally finished. "It's crazy. You can't expect me to really believe that."

"Matt, I swear to you it's the truth," said Usagi, frowning. "Believe me, it took me a long time to believe it too."

"No way; this is insane," said Matt, getting up from the table and packing his bag. "I'm calling up the nearest mental institution to check myself in, because this is just—"

His rant was interrupted by the phone on the table ringing. Automatically on reflex, he grabbed the receiver and answered it, ignoring Rei's annoyed grunt. "Hello?"

"Am I speaking with the Sailor Senshi?" came a deep, guttural voice from the other end.

"The Sailor Senshi?" Matt asked in confusion. The other girls watched, motioning for him to speak. "Y-yeah, this is the Sailor Senshi," he said. "How'd you get this number? I don't think we're in the phone book."

"Are you sure? Forgive me; I was under the impression that the Senshi were all women," the voice mocked him.

"Yes, this is the Sailor Senshi. They've decided to inject some testosterone into the group," Matt shot back. "Now why are you calling?"

"Your friend will be brought to the Hang Fung restaurant in Chinatown tonight at midnight," said the voice. "You will bring the ransom there at that time. Bring the Imperial Silver Crystal."

"The…Imperial…Silver…Crystal," Matt muttered, writing it down on his legal pad. "Do you want us to bring you the British Crown Jewels with that?"

There was a pause. "Who are you?" the mysterious voice asked with interest.

"You're the one calling us; don't ask me who I am," Matt said. "Who are you?"

"I would just like to tell your lovely blonde friend here who is responsible for her dying because he doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut," the voice snapped. Brief pause. "And my name is Lucretius, as if it matters to you."

"Alright, so…midnight tonight, Hang Fung restaurant, Chinatown, bring the Imperial Silver Crystal," Matt recited.

"This isn't a business deal. Do you think this is a game? There is more at stake here than even your lives," Lucretius told Sneider. "I have half a mind to gut the Senshi of Love right now like a fish just to spite you."

"Listen buddy," Matt snarled, losing patience. "You told us to bring the Crystal, we'll bring it. And then you can try saying that shit to my face, fuck-o." He slammed the receiver down, breathing heavily. "Was that a little heavy-handed?" he asked the group at large.

"He has our friend captive! You don't talk to him like that, you idiot!" Rei cried.

"But he has your friend captive!" Matt protested. "Why _shouldn't _I talk to him like that? Hell, I don't even know what the Senshi of Love looks like!"

Usagi pulled a small photo out of her schoolbag. "This is her," she said, showing it to him.

Matt Sneider took the photo and stared. The dying youma had been right—she _was _beautiful. She had long blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, with a playful smirk. She could have been a model.

Matt looked up at the Senshi. "Question," he said, "is being really good-looking a prerequisite for being in this group? Because if so, I honestly don't think I qualify."

His joke resulted in a few chuckles, breaking the tension from the phone call.

"So, we're going to this place tonight then?" Makoto asked. "I've been to that restaurant before. They have really good steamed pork buns."

Everyone stared at her. "Steamed pork buns?" Usagi repeated, practically drooling at the thought. Ami sighed. "Usagi and food…wow."

"So, why don't we meet here at 10 and head over?" suggested Rei. "Unless…wait, Matt, won't you still be at work?"

"Well…no, actually," he remembered. "Tonight I have to go to the printer. It basically means I can take the night off. I'll just show up there, let them know I'm there, and then sneak out to come here. I'm sure it won't be a problem."

"We're not _actually _going to give them the crystal, are we Usagi?" Makoto asked their leader.

The future Moon Princess stood up. "Nope," she declared. "We're going to keep both the Crystal _and _Sailor Venus."


	7. Chapter 7: Fire In the Hole

_CHAPTER SEVEN – FIRE IN THE HOLE_

"Going to the printer" had been talked up so much that Matt Sneider wasn't sure he would be impressed unless it was an absolute paradise.

Which it wasn't, of course.

True, there was a decent-looking reception area with couches, TVs, a few computers and phones. Many of the couches looked as if they had been slept in. Clearly many people had spent a lot of time waiting in this room for their orders to be filled.

However, the manager of the printer was a chubby, amiable fellow.

"Welcome! You're a new face!" he exclaimed, pumping Matt's hand.

"Thank you—Matt Sneider, Goldman Sachs," Matt greeted.

"Daisuke! Daisuke Matsuzaka," he said.

Matt paused in the middle of his handshake. "Wait, really?" he asked.

"That's my name!" the short Japanese man said proudly, placing his hands on his hips.

Matt stared at him for a second. "You realize that there's a guy who pitches for the Boston Red Sox who has the same name as you, right?"

Daisuke nodded enthusiastically. "Absolutely! The best team in the world! You agree?"

Matt bit back a disgusted snort. "I'm a Cubs fan, myself, actually," he remarked. How was it there were Red Sox fans on the other side of the world? "Anyway, Mr. Matsuzaka, how long do you think it'll take for Goldman's order to get printed?"

"Well, we've actually got a backlog of orders right now," said the manager. "So, it could be at least four hours in my experience."

Matt shut his eyes in exasperation. "You're serious?"

Matsuzaka shrugged. "It's just how we have to do things. We only have so much capacity, and everyone's always trying to demand their project get done first."

"If _we _got it done instead of making stupid unnecessary changes all the time, we wouldn't have this problem," Matt fumed to himself. "So…can I just…make myself at home then?"

The printer manager nodded. "I'll come out and get you when we're ready, but it could take a very long time. Only contact me if there's an emergency."

"Got it," said Matt. "Is it cool if I take a walk around the block?"

"Of course. Now, I'll have to go supervise the next shift."

Matt then killed some time watching some random Japanese game shows, which never failed to amuse him. After watching a contest involving an octopus and copious amounts of yelling and swearing, Matt decided to sneak out to Chinatown. He carefully checked the surrounding rooms to make sure no one was around before walking out the front door.

#######################################################

"Where's our banker friend?" Makoto asked as she and her friends waited in a hawker center filled with food carts. People hustled back and forth, carrying containers of food of varying shapes and sizes. Lines snaked around the most popular stalls, and throngs of people sat and stood, eating, drinking and talking in a hive of activity.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear you over the sound of Usagi chewing," said Rei irritably, as the blonde noisily chomped down on mouthful after mouthful of spicy chicken and rice.

"Hmpf?" she asked wordlessly with her mouth full.

"Never mind," said Rei, rolling her eyes.

Ami returned with a cardboard box full of takoyaki, chewing happily on one of the tasty dumplings. "I haven't had those in such a long time," Rei mused, looking at the food. "They're so unhealthy."

"It doesn't matter—what matters is, they're delicious!" Makoto interjected.

A blond guy wearing a business suit and a loosened tie entered the hawker center, staring at his Blackberry and shaking his head.

"Sneider!" Makoto called, waving. "Over here!"

"Hey guys," said Matt, walking over. "Sorry I'm late."

Rei glanced at her watch. "It's only 10:03. You're within the five minute grace period," she told him.

Matt nodded, although he still looked a little annoyed with himself.

"Hungry?" Makoto asked him. Matt glanced down at his stomach, which had just growled in response.

"There's your answer," he said with a smirk. "What's good around here? I just realized I haven't had anything to eat since lunch."

Ami offered him her box of takoyaki. "Try one," she said.

Matt chewed thoughtfully, paused, then resumed chewing. "That's…that's kinda good, actually," he said appreciatively. "Would be better with some Tabasco on it, but…yeah, that's pretty good. What's in it?"

"Octopus."

Matt's eyebrows shot up. "You serious? Show me where you got it. Now."

##########################################################

"Matt, stop eating those so fast—you could give Usagi a run for her money!" Rei admonished.

"Be quiet," Matt grunted.

Usagi smirked. It reminded her of how often she and Rei used to get on each other's nerves.

"Rei, tell me something—has anyone ever smacked you?" Matt asked with his mouth full.

"Why you—" Rei started to retort, but she was interrupted by Makoto, who needed a way to nip the argument before it started.

"Punch me instead, Matt," she commanded.

Sneider stared at the brunette as if she had suggested that it was presently snowing pink monkeys. "No way," he said.

"Hit me," Makoto told him. "Or try to. Come on—we're going to go into the restaurant soon, and you need some practice, so hit me."

"I'm not going to hit you, Makoto," Matt insisted. "I don't hit girls."

"Hence the emphasis on the word 'try,'" she smirked. "Go on. Give me your best shot."

"Look Makoto, let's just—" as he said this, Matt tried to surprise her by aiming a punch directly at her face to see what she would do.

It turned out to be no problem as the Senshi of Thunder in disguise quickly blocked his punch with an open hand, grabbed his shoulder, and used his momentum to flip him over her back and onto the ground. Matt groaned in pain and humiliation, his surprise gambit a failure. All four girls burst into laughter.

"Not bad, but you need to do more than that to survive the Negaverse," Makoto told him, helping him to his feet. "Nice effort, though."

"Question…how does it feel to know that at any time, any one of you could beat the crap out of anyone you want?"

"Now that you mention it, it feels pretty good. Now…what's our plan again?"

Usagi reached into her bag and carefully withdrew and elaborate pink locket. "For some odd reason, this is what the Negaverse always seems to want," she explained. The blonde carefully opened it, revealing an immaculately clear gem that played a subtle, soothing melody. The girls all stared at the crystal with something approaching reverence.

"The bad guys always think that if they get their hands on this, they can use its power to suit their ends," said Usagi as Matt looked back and forth between her and her crystal.

"Not that we think it's possible," Ami added. "Even if they did get it, the positive energy in it would be incompatible with their plans. We think."

"But that doesn't stop them from trying," Rei finished.

"We aren't giving it to them anyway," Usagi said calmly, putting the crystal away. "Matt, nobody from the Negaverse knows who you are—or at least, they haven't seen your face, and the only one who did is now conveniently a pile of moon dust. I think it's best if you go in first, if the Negaverse knows our secret identities."

"Bluff my way in?"

Usagi nodded. "Something like that. Go in and demand to see Lucretius. Then, when they're distracted by you, the rest of us will move in. If they try anything funny…well, we'll know what to do, won't we?" As she spoke, doubt flashed in her mind at what an important job she was asking him to do. She didn't want him to get hurt. But it seemed to make the most sense to her, and there was a job to do. But if the youma knew their civilian identities, the mission would be over before it even started.

Everyone nodded. Sneider took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and marched through the entrance of Hang Fung restaurant.

#########################################################

Matt strode confidently into the restaurant. It was crowded and noisy, with waiters and waitresses bustling to and fro carrying large platters of delicious-smelling food. He approached the hostess near the entrance.

"Good evening sir; table for one?" she asked amiably.

"Actually, I was wondering whether you could help me," said Matt. "I'm here to see Lucretius. Can you tell him Matt Sneider from Goldman Sachs has arrived?"

The hostess blinked and had a confused look that was almost a little too practiced. "I'm sorry, who?"

"Lucretius," Matt repeated. "You know, with the big, deep, intimidating voice?"

"What does he look like?"

"He's…well, I'm not sure exactly, but I imagine he's pretty ugly."

"I'm sorry sir, but I have no idea what you're talking about," said the hostess. "But if you'd like a table—"

"Listen," Matt channeled his inner arrogant investment banker. "Lucretius called me and told me to meet him here; he's my client and I'm his financial advisor. It's an emergency, and another one of my clients could be in big trouble because of it. I need you to stop this little charade right now and tell him I've arrived."

The hostess opened her mouth, considering whether she should continue to stonewall him. Matt played his trump card. "Look, I know you think you're well disguised, but you can't fool me…youma."

"Quiet down!" the hostess hissed, shiftily glancing around. "It's my first night shift, alright?" she whispered angrily.

"I see. Why don't you go get him then, and I'll—" Matt snatched a nearby menu—"sit right here." Sneider took a seat at the closest empty table.

The hostess sighed. Was her disguise really that terrible? She started to walk towards the back of the restaurant. Sneider quickly looked at the first page of the menu and remembered what Makoto had said earlier that morning. "Oh, and while you're at it," he called to her—its?—retreating back, "if you could bring me a plate of your famous steamed pork buns, that would be great too. Thanks."

#########################################################

"Shouldn't he be in there by now? What's taking him so long?" Rei hissed.

"Ami, why don't you go in next?" Usagi suggested, as if she hadn't heard Rei at all. "They'll recognize my hair a mile away," she added with a smile. "Rei, you're going in afterwards. Then Makoto and I will follow."

#########################################################

The hostess youma in disguise entered a large room at the back of the Chinese restaurant. About a dozen youma lounged around the room, looking bored.

Lucretius, black and white demon mask on, cut an imposing figure as he sat in his plush leather chair. "This human food is pathetic," he muttered as he observed the customers through the two-way mirror in front of him that looked out onto the restaurant floor.

"Sir, someone's just come in an asked to see you," the hostess saluted.

Lucretius' face remained immobile. "Do they match any of the Sailor Senshi profiles we've gathered?"

The hostess looked confused. "It's a man."

"What?" Lucretius glanced at his subordinate and thought deeply. All of a sudden, it seemed that something clicked within his brain. "Clever girls," he muttered. Then he rose from his chair and began issuing orders.

"Get the Senshi of Love out of here now," he ordered. "If they're going to send their lackeys to do the job for them, they clearly haven't fulfilled their end of the bargain. Send out a decoy just in case they try anything smart. And bring that fool back here so we can…persuade him that he has chosen the wrong side. We'll see if he's as tough in person as he is over the phone."

##########################################################

"Man, these are good," Sneider said to himself through a mouthful of steamed pork bun. Makoto hadn't been kidding—they were delicious.

"Haven't you had enough to eat already?" said Ami, who had just walked in and noticed him sitting there. As the analyst shook his head, she thought about all the times she had had a fourth meal around this time during the week. Late hours of studying did strange things to one's diet, she realized. Ami wondered whether she had discovered a potential topic for her thesis…

"Lucretius will see you now," said the hostess stiffly. She didn't even notice the blue-haired girl standing near him.

"About damn time," said Matt, putting down his chopsticks and rising from his chair. "Follow me," she said, walking away.

"As soon as you hear gunshots, get in there after me," Matt said quietly to Ami as Rei stepped through the front entrance as well. "It's gonna get a little dangerous in here, I think."

##########################################################

The door closed behind Matt Sneider as he took a few steps into the large back room. Several large chairs and a couple of tables stood around, most of them occupied by youma in human disguise.

Matt glanced around casually, as if he was surveying a new apartment. "So…which one of you guys is Lucretius?" he asked.

He took a step back as the imposing figure advanced toward him. The guy was a _mountain—_almost seven feet tall. Sneider found himself unable to look at the cruel expression that was permanently etched onto the black and white mask that he wore. Matt suddenly felt very uneasy, and his confident manner evaporated.

"So _this _is whom the Sailor Senshi send to do their dirty work for them," the monster growled behind his mask. "Not very intimidating now, are you?"

Matt warily looked at the monster. "I just need to know if the prisoner is okay," he said quietly.

Behind the mask, Lucretius grinned evilly. "She's perfectly fine…now, come across with the Imperial Silver Crystal and we'll have done with it." In truth, Mina was probably kicking and screaming wildly while his partners threw her into the back of a vehicle to flee to another location.

"Where is she?"

"Ah, ah, ah…" Lucretius wagged a finger tauntingly. "You are not in a position to make bargains here. Show me you have the crystal, and we'll bring you the girl."

"…okay," Matt resigned, shaking his head. "I've got the Imperial Silver Crystal right here in my coat…"

Later on, as he did with so many of his rash actions, Matt Sneider would wonder exactly why he thought he could pull a fast one on one of the Negaverse's most powerful soldiers. Especially since Makoto had proven to him only fifteen minutes before that sneak attacks weren't exactly the most effective thing in the world. But the overconfident Matt Sneider tried it anyway. He reached into his inner jacket pockets, whipped out both Moon pistols as fast as he could, and emptied about a dozen shots straight into Lucretius' body.

Lucretius stood perfectly still, not affected in the slightest. He didn't even wince.

Matt's face drained of color. It was a miracle he didn't drop both guns right then and there. If "oh, shit" could have been encapsulated by an expression, Sneider's face would have been it.

The youma leader cocked his head slightly to the left, as if amused. Then he forcefully grabbed Matt's collar and lifted him off the ground. The guns dropped to the floor; Matt's choking noises filled the room.

"You fool," Lucretius growled. "You are pathetic." He bodily threw the analyst into a table on the far side of the room, which broke into several pieces with the weight of the impact. Matt lay there motionless, breathing heavily and feeling completely humiliated.

"Comrades," he motioned to the other youma in the room. "Disguises don't mean much at this point. Finish him...and don't spare the pain." With that, he turned to leave.

He wasn't expecting Sailor Mars to body-slam through the two way mirror with a gravelly scream, shattering it into a million pieces. The Senshi of Fire rolled onto the floor, clutching an ofuda in each hand. She flung each to one side, immediately taking out two youma in the room.

"Mercury Bubbles—BLAST!" The Senshi of Water filled the room with her trademark impenetrable fog. The two Senshi went to work.

Sailor Mercury dashed through her fog, cutting down a youma with a furious kick. She turned around quickly in time to block one of its friends aiming to tackle her; the momentum of the monster's body slam pushed her back against the wall. Mercury grabbed the monster's evil head with both hands and heaved it into the wall beside her with all her might. Grunting, the beast dropped to the ground.

Sailor Mars saw the action out of the corner of her eye with satisfaction. Ami didn't always appear as gung-ho to fight as the other girls, but she certainly had her share of "Action girl" moments. Mars saw a demon picking up its automatic weapon and moved to attack first.

"MARS FLAME SNIPER!" She drew her flaming arrow, the intense otherworldly heat searing her face. The celestial projectile flashed across the room, striking the monster dead on and transforming it into a column of fire and ash.

She wasn't quick enough for another monster that began blindly spraying the room with lead. Bullets thudded into chairs, walls, and tables. Mars frantically covered her head and dashed behind an overturned table for cover, breathing heavily. She carefully peeked over the edge and saw the monster's silhouette in the center of the room. Glancing down at her feet, she saw a piece of wood that had once been part of a chair.

Mars picked it up and heaved it across the room towards the monster, striking it in the head. The machine fire came to a halt.

Another beast came charging towards her. Mars lifted the table that lay in front of her and let it take the impact of the monsters' hit right in the midsection. Mustering all her strength, she heaved the table and youma up and over head, flipping both onto the ground behind her. The wounded monster didn't even have time to get up before a red heel to the throat ended its life.

Mars whipped her head around and clothes-lined yet another charging youma with her forearm. She whipped out another ofuda and began wrestling with the monster on the ground, struggling to touch it with the charm. The beast clawed angrily at her forearm, holding her back. Their arms shook with the effort as each tried to overpower the other.

Mars pushed forward about an inch and was forced back just as quickly. The youma was lying on its back now, locked in the struggle. It was as if nothing else mattered but the personal battle between the two of them. Mars sucked in a mighty breath and reached down inside of her for a final push.

The monster fought back hard and fought back well, but all Rei needed was just one little corner of the ofuda to touch it, and it did. The youma froze up and quickly dissolved into dust, its expression of pained defeat vanishing.

"Mars! One of them is getting away!" cried Sailor Mercury, who took off through the opening in the mirror made by Sailor Mars' dramatic entrance.

Painfully heaving himself to his feet, Matt grabbed his guns and limp-ran after her, followed by Mars.

All of the people who had been in the restaurant had thankfully fled it by this time after hearing the gunshots and the commotion. The youma they were following was running for its life into the kitchen, probably hoping to find a back exit. It flipped over one of the stoves, trying to escape its inevitable fate.

"Mars Fire—IGNITE!" Rei yelled, blasting a projectile of flames at the fleeing youma's back.

The next thing the three of them knew, there was a tremendous explosion and nothing but blackness.

#########################################################

Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter were about to charge right in through the restaurant's front entrance, but thankfully they stopped before all hell broke loose.

"Oh my God!" Sailor Moon cried as the back half of the restaurant exploded and the building started to collapse. "How did that happen?"

"My guess is, it has something to do with Rei's fire attack and a fuel tank," Jupiter observed. As she did, a piercing cry for help cut through the night. Squinting, Jupiter could see two or three dark figures hauling something into the back of a white van about one hundred yards away.

"Sailor Moon! Over there! It's Mina! Let's get her!" As they both began to run, the van's back doors were quickly shut and the engine gunned. With a screech of rubber, the vehicle took off with the captured Senshi inside it.

Sparks crackled from Makoto's tiara. "I'll stop them right in their tracks," she said threateningly. "Jupiter Thunder—"

"No, don't!" the Moon Princess stopped her. "You'll hurt Mina!"

With a curse, Makoto discontinued her attack. "Well come on! Let's get above them." With that, she promptly began climbing up a fire escape to the roof of a nearby apartment building. Sailor Moon quickly followed.

Once they were on the roof, Makoto peered around for a moment. "There! I can see the van." Sure enough, there it was, cruising along side streets in an attempt to lose them. The driver was clearly convinced they were going to simply run after it. But these were the Sailor Senshi. They were smarter than that.

The two of them started to leap from roof to roof, never letting the white van out of sight. They leapt daringly like shadows in the night, skidding on the roofs with their boots. They gained ground on the van from above far faster than they would have on foot. Breathing heavily, they were soon within striking distance.

Then the driver of the van made a mistake. Turning right, the van emerged onto a main street where there was a lot of traffic even this late at night, where it quickly became trapped in the gridlock. Despite frantic horn honking and maneuvering, the vehicle would soon become easy bait.

The pair of Senshi found their way to the bright roof of the closest available building. Headlights of cars and streetlights glared in their faces as they leapt down into traffic.

Makoto, who had landed on the hood of a nearby taxi, leapt onto the front of the van and punched through the windshield. The startled youma driver reached for his weapon too late as the Senshi of Thunder grabbed him and flung him out into the street. Clenching her fist, strings of lightning appeared in Makoto's hand, and she landed a mighty punch into the side of the youma's face. Sparks, youma blood, and electricity flew as the monster collapsed.

Sailor Moon jumped onto the roof of the van and rolled off of it, crossing around to the back doors. She tried opening them; couldn't. Whipping out her Moon Spiral Heart Rod, she gave an angry slash at the doors, which sprung open, revealing a charging monster.

Reflexes working at maximum, Usagi swung her weapon as if she was using a tennis racket, startling the monster and destroying it in a bright flash of pure brilliance.

Not seeing any more threats, she jumped into the spacious trunk to untie the prisoner within. But something seemed wrong; the figure didn't seem to be struggling. In fact, it wasn't moving at all.

"What the…" Sailor Moon pulled the black sack cloth off the prisoner's head and saw, instead of a grateful Minako Aino, a mannequin lookalike.

"Are you kidding me?" Sailor Jupiter groaned in frustration, who had circled around to join her princess.

Usagi let out a sigh of defeat. She angrily threw the sack away and exited the van, hands on her hips. She lowered her head. "I think we've just fallen for the oldest trick in the book," she said.

#########################################################

Cut and bleeding in several places, but miraculously alive, Sailor Mercury shakily climbed to her feet. Her knees hurt terribly, and her uniform was cut and seared away in the back. The bright orange flames that consumed the restaurant lit up her pale face as she looked at it. Sailor Mars must have hit a fuel source of some kind, triggering the explosion. She shook her head. Did the girl _think _before she used a fire attack indoors? Clearly not.

Glancing down, the Senshi of Water saw a dark shape that was Matt Sneider. She ran over to him and crouched down to see if he was alright. Gently, she shook the analyst.

Matt groaned in intense pain. His jacket and shirt were covered in ash, and large holes had appeared in them. He was a mess. "Fuck my life," he whispered shakily as he opened his eyes and raised his head. The ivory moon pistol lay about two feet in front of his head. He stared at it for a second, as if not remembering what it was before reaching out to grab it.

Ami helped him to his feet. "You're alright," she said. "Do you feel any dizziness?"

Sneider shook his head to clear it. "I feel like I've just been put through a blender…how is it that we're alive even though we were just right next to an explosion?" he asked her.

Mercury stared at him. "They don't call me the Senshi of Water for nothing," she shrugged. Then her eyes widened in shock. "Watch out!" she yelled, pulling him to the side as a white van screeched down the block they were on and nearly ran them over. As it raced away, Mercury had a realization.

"They've probably got Mina in there!" she cried. "Come on!" She took off running; Matt drew the ebony pistol and squeezed off several shots in rapid succession before Mercury yelled, "Stop! You might hurt Mina!"

They began to give chase, but didn't get very far as they started to hear sirens. A huge fire truck had pulled up outside the flaming wreck of the restaurant along with several police cars. One of them screeched to a halt right in front of their path.

Three officers got out. "Halt! What's going on here? Why do you have those weapons?" one of them called to Matt.

"I, uh…" Sneider didn't know what to say.

"Please, officer—someone was trying to kill us!" Sailor Mercury protested. "We were in the restaurant when it blew up."

"Why are you running away, then? Why didn't you call us?" the officer questioned.

"Looks pretty suspicious to me," his partner added. "And why are you dressed like that?" he eyed Sailor Mercury's sailor fuku.

"I think you're going to have to come with us—both of you," said the head officer.

"What? You've got to be kidding me! There's no way you're putting me under arrest!" Matt panicked.

"You're fleeing the scene of a crime, heavily armed, with a suspiciously dressed comrade," the policeman quipped. "You're lucky we don't arrest you on the spot. Get in the car, both of you."

"Please, listen to me—" Sailor Mercury started, but the policeman, losing patience, grabbed her from behind while his partner put handcuffs on Sneider. As they were both slammed onto the hood of the police cruiser, their wounds crying out in agony, Matt could only grunt one thing to the world in general:

"How could this night get ANY worse?"


	8. Chapter 8: Jailbreak

_CHAPTER EIGHT – JAILBREAK_

After simply dealing with the shock of things, Sailor Mercury's brain was working on a way out of their present situation.

To begin with, the police didn't seem very smart, as none of them seemed to have noticed that she had changed back into Ami Mizuno with her normal street clothes on. She was sitting near the entrance to the jail cell, staring out through the bars and trying to get used to the fact that Ami Mizuno, model student, was in prison.

But it didn't really look like a prison. She was in a temporary holding cell, outside of which looked like an administrative office of some kind. Desks and piles of paper stood around the cluttered space. Since it was quite late at night at this point, most of the people, including the officers who had arrested them, seemed to have gone home for the night. In fact, the place looked completely deserted to her.

Except, of course, for the obnoxious analyst who didn't seem to have a filter between his brain and his mouth.

"Well, this is gonna look _great_ on my resume!" Matt Sneider groaned as he paced frantically back and forth in the cell they shared. "Yes, I can see the list now: member of the finance society, interned at Goldman Sachs Tokyo office—and arrested for a crime I didn't even commit with people I know nothing about!" He kicked the wall in frustration; Ami remained silent and decided to let him vent.

"I'm supposed to be at the printer, like a normal freakin' analyst," he continued, frantically running his hands through his hair. "I came here to just do some banking, put in a few 100-hour workweeks, and go home with a boatload of cash. And instead I'm rotting in a fuckin' JAIL CELL!" Another angry kick thudded against the wall.

"Enough," Ami ordered. Sneider froze in the middle of another kick wind-up. He turned to look at her.

"What?"

"I said that's enough," the genius reiterated. "If we're going to find a way out of this, we have to stay calm. Getting angry isn't going to help."

"I don't know whether you noticed," said Matt testily, "that we've just been arrested?"

"I am just as aware of that as you are," said Ami patiently. "And we are in a bad situation. But we're going to try to fix it. Until then, you won't do any good kicking the wall, unless you think you can break through it wearing those shoes."

Matt slowly clenched and unclenched his fists, while glancing guiltily at the scuff mark he had left on the wall. "This is crazy," he muttered.

"Our friends will find a way to help us," said Ami. "They have never let us down before. So until that time comes, we have the make the best of a bad situation. Now sit down and take a few deep breaths before you give yourself a heart attack."

Reluctantly, Matt took a seat on the floor, stretching his legs out opposite the Senshi of Water in human form. It left only about an inch of space between the tips of their shoes.

After a minute of silence, Sneider looked at Ami's blue eyes. "So…how does one pass the time while waiting for their super-powered friends to rescue them?"

Ami shrugged. "Usually I try to go over everything in my head for an exam I have the next day."

Matt smirked and started to laugh, thinking she was kidding. But when he saw that she had said that with a straight face, he sobered. "You serious?" he asked.

She nodded. "Sometimes I feel like being in school is more demanding than being a Senshi."

Matt didn't know what to make of that comment.

"Though, I suppose," Ami continued, tucking her blue hair behind her ear, "that I could open up for a more mutual discussion."

"Meaning?"

"Well—"

"Wait, before you answer that," Matt interrupted, "is it true that you really have an IQ of 300?"

Ami paused and blushed slightly. She didn't like to brag about her smarts. It put people off and was arrogant and rude to boot. But he had asked…

She stared at the floor and answered quietly, "298."

Sneider stared in disbelief. What was this girl doing putting her life in danger and fighting monsters when she could have been designing the next space program or finding a way to cure cancer?

"As I was saying, a good way to pass the time would be to each tell the other about something only they know about," the nerd said.

"You've got an IQ of 298," Matt scoffed. "What could I possibly tell you that you don't already know?"

Ami paused. She hadn't thought of that. "Well…I confess, I'm not entirely sure what high finance is like," she told him, trying to help. "It's not something I've spent a whole lot of time reading up on. The best way to tell whether you know something is to try to teach it to someone else."

"So…I guess you could tell me what you have to know for your exam tomorrow, and help yourself out that way," Sneider offered. "I don't promise to understand any of it, though."

"I don't promise, either," said Ami with a smile. When the analyst gave her a skeptical look, she continued, "I won't pretend. Truly intelligent people know that compared to the vast compendium of human knowledge, they don't know anything. There is so much that we don't understand. They know their limitations."

"I think it's safe to say that your limitations are a good deal bigger than most," Matt observed. "Shall we begin?"

"Be my guest."

"Okay," Sneider took a deep breath, "A good way to start, I think, is by watching the movie _Wall Street. _Now the plot goes something like this…"

#########################################################

Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter were supposed to be two of the most powerful Senshi. But in certain circumstances, they seemed to utterly deflate, particularly when faced with angry talking cats.

Luna was truly in rare form, lacing into the two of them with what was probably her angriest tirade to date. The feline punched all the possible insecurity buttons: Mina was still suffering at youma hands, Ami and Sneider had been embarrassingly carted off to jail, Rei nowhere to be found after the restaurant blew up. Not to mention the wisdom (or lack thereof) of sending in their unproven rookie without adequate backup, the blatant stupidity of falling for a decoy truck, and of course, how would they rule a lunar kingdom with any competency at all if they couldn't even handle a simple rescue mission?

Luna would have a sore throat in the morning without a doubt. Frightening images of sailor outfits languishing behind bars in a dark jail cell haunted her mind. But she couldn't believe that such an embarrassing failure had been attached to the Senshi. Thankfully, her sputtering rant was coming to a close.

"It's ludicrous!" she screeched. "I'm putting my foot down. Both of you are returning to the temple, and you're going to stay there until I sort out this whole mess you've gotten us into!"

"Luna, you're being unreasonable," Makoto tried speak soothingly.

"Don't!" the cat snapped. "For the rest of the night, you both have lost your privilege of leading this group. Nothing you have tried to do tonight has worked; it's time for someone else to take charge. Now get back to Hikawa Jinja, or so help me I will claw both of your faces off!"

"Please Luna, let us help—" Usagi started before being cut off.

"Absolutely not! You'll only screw everything up again! And then I'll have to explain to your parents what happened! Next time, Sailor Moon—next time you take the lead into danger and we can be rid of your stupidity!"

Sailor Moon choked back a sob and blinked back the mist that clouded her blue eyes. It was difficult enough knowing how badly they had botched the operation and probably done some serious damage to their fighting power. Dealing with Luna's after-action chew-outs was one of the things she disliked most about her life. Luna had been angry with them before, but this hurt more than all of those…because this time, the cat was pretty much entirely correct.

Luna saw how hurt the two remaining Senshi were and mercifully cut herself off. They were only girls after all, and human beings to boot. Even with their powers, it didn't make them perfect.

"I'm going to fix all this," the cat said in a voice of forced calm. "Go back to the temple and wait for me there. Rest."

The two exhausted girls got into a taxi while Luna started to work on a plan.

##########################################################

"Let me get this straight," Matt pressed his knuckles into his forehead. "There are two types of genes. One kicks ass. One doesn't. And…when they get combined…one emerges dominant over the other. But not always."

Ami fought to contain her laugh. "Yes, go on."

"And…even if the little gene still somehow manages to win…the stronger gene can still somehow come back and kick its ass later on down the road."

A smile spread across Ami's face. "Not the most technical explanation in the world, but that's the basic concept," she said. Matt leaned his head back, mentally exhausted with the effort of trying to get his head around a complicated medical concept. "God, this stuff makes Black-Scholes option pricing look like a walk in the park."

"I didn't think that formula was so complex," she said innocently. "It's only six inputs."

"Try saying _that _in an interview," said Matt. "You'll get mind-screwed on technicals if you act like you know everything."

"I don't."

As they were talking, the door to the office opened, revealing a guard with a strange, mesmerized look on his face. "Right in here," he slurred. "Let me know if you have any issues."

"Thank you; you have been most helpful," said a silky British voice, the source of which neither of them could see. The guard turned and left. "I'll just go ahead and dispose of this report as if it never happened," he confirmed.

Luna bounded over to the jail cell door and looked in. "Are you two comfortable?" she asked with a quirk of an eyebrow.

"Luna, how did you do that?" asked Ami, standing up.

"Same way I reawakened you all into the Senshi years ago," she said, looking for the keys. "The Luna Mindmelt has other uses besides that, you know."

"You can read and control minds? Jesus," Matt muttered, rising to his feet as well. "How?"

"Because destiny says so," said Luna as she unlocked the door. "I must protect the Senshi at all costs, and that extends to breaking them out of a human jail cell."

"It's a good thing we all can't do that, then," said the analyst. "Because I have a feeling Rei would make me jump off a bridge right now if she could do mind control."

"That would be too kind of me," said the namesake voice. "You deserve much worse." The Senshi of Fire in human form had walked into the office, having accompanied Luna on the mission.

"Rei, I didn't—" Matt started to defend himself, but she cut him off with a cold, "Not now. Later."

Matt pressed his lips together and hung his head as the four of them trooped right out of the jail and all the way back to Hikawa Jinja. It was very late at this point, nearly four o clock in the morning, and Sneider felt as if he had just put in another brutal day at the office.

Usagi and Makoto were two silhouettes at the top of the temple steps, a warm yellow light shining behind them. Ami walked into Usagi's warm embrace. "Thank God you're both okay," their leader said calmly. "Thank you too, Luna," she added. A late night breeze blew up; Matt thought he could almost see the first pink rays of sunrise. It was a calm moment that wouldn't last.

"No thanks to _these two," _said Rei through gritted teeth. "We were just about to get Mina back, and you two screwed it all up! You're smarter than that! Now we'll never find out where she is!"

Matt glared at her. "Don't take that attitude with me," he snapped. "You're the one that blew up the restaurant and almost everybody in it! 'Oh yeah, let me go ahead and use a fire attack indoors where there are gas pipelines.' Dumbass."

"That restaurant NEEDED to be blown up!" she roared. Matt returned to staring at the ground, as though wishing he could sink into it.

"Enough!" said Usagi, fighting to control a laugh. "We're just going to have to find another way. Our plan didn't work this time—fine, we'll have a better plan next time."

Matt looked at her. "Princess Usagi," he said. He walked up to her and hesitated before awkwardly sinking into a half-bow. "It was all my fault, what happened in there. I…I messed up big time. I thought I could outsmart Lucretius, but…I was wrong. This wouldn't have happened if I wasn't so cocky. Please don't blame Sailor Mercury—it was all me. I know you all care about Mina a whole lot, and, uh…I know that you wouldn't do anything to…put her life in any more danger."

Usagi surveyed him compassionately as he told her this. She graciously placed a hand on his shoulder. "Matt, I want you to know I appreciate what you did out there tonight. You did the best you could, and that's all that can be asked. Isn't that right, Rei?"

The angry miko rolled her eyes and went inside without a word.

Makoto placed her hand on Matt's other shoulder. "Think of it like baseball—it's a long season! You can't win every situation. Plus, you totally kicked the shit out of like twelve of their guys! That counts for something!" she finished cheerfully.

"Sure it does," he replied.

"Go home, have a nice meal, get some sleep," said Makoto. "All things considered, I thought you did okay tonight. Nice job, rookie."

"Thanks, I guess. I should get back to the office. Heck, I practically live there anyway…wait, where's Ami?"

The Senshi of Water had disappeared after Rei and Matt had started arguing.

"I think she may have gone home," said Usagi. "Knowing her, she probably has a test or something today."

Matt said good night and left the temple, his laptap case and suit jacket over his shoulder. A quick check of Google maps and he was walking through quiet streets to get back to Goldman headquarters.

He gained the impression that he was being followed.

"You know, I appreciate what you said back there," a shy voice said. "It was…very humble. Noble, even."

Matt turned around to look at Ami. "It's the truth," he said. The two of them looked at each other awkwardly. "I…I live near here, that's why I'm walking this way," she stammered.

The analyst smirked. "Well, should I walk you home then? I mean, if you think about it, we hung out with your friends, went to a restaurant, got into a little trouble…I should walk you home, right?"

Ami blinked, opened her mouth, closed it. "Um…sure," she said. They walked side by side for a few minutes until Matt broke the silence:

"GOD DAMMIT, I'M SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE PRINTER!"


	9. Chapter 9: Where The Slime Live

_CHAPTER NINE – WHERE THE SLIME LIVE_

"Usagi, please pay attention."

"Uh, yes, Professor, uh, H."

Usagi fought to keep her attention on the lecture at hand, but as always, her mind was slipping. It didn't help that one of her best friends was in danger and she could do nothing about it for being stuck in school. She knew that she had to keep her responsibilities as a regular human being, but…God, it just ached her so feeling so human.

She had a pleasant vision about transforming into Sailor Moon on the spot just so she could escape outside into the sunshine. Usagi had just gotten into an amusing little part that involved her "accidentally" using her tiara to destroy the indecipherable chalkboard in front of her when a sharp pencil poke stirred her.

"Miss Tsukino, I'm going to assume you're tired because you were up late reading your textbook," said the professor.

"Uh…yes, hehe, you got me there," Usagi replied brightly. She opened her notebook and began to muse about what had happened over the last couple of days. Uncapping her blue pen, she began to think about something that was actually useful.

She wrote down in the upper left corner, "Lucretius" and stared at it. He seemed a little different from the run-of-the-mill Negaverse villain the Senshi were accustomed to. He seemed reluctant to challenge the Senshi in the open, as if he preferred to operate in the shadows to break them that way. Ami had had the right idea about him attacking their trust. A blue arrow was drawn down the page from Lucretius' name, the words "attacks trust to get…" appearing alongside it.

At the end of the arrow, she wrote down Lucretius' objective, "Imperial Silver Crystal." She shook her head gently. It was almost comical how much every single enemy wanted what was in her locket. It was almost a rule of thumb: "Give me the Imperial Silver Crystal or [fill in terrible thing here happens]." The Senshi had come to expect almost nothing else. The next enemy they met who wasn't after her crystal in some way or another would be the first.

Usagi's hand paused halfway towards her next scribble. What if Lucretius wasn't after the Crystal but something else? Sure, he had told them so over the phone that he wanted it. It looked as if he was just holding Minako as ransom to get the Crystal from her. But somehow it now seemed…too simple, too easy. What if he was bluffing? If so, why? What was he really after?

A couple of minutes of thought later, Usagi slowly added a question mark: "Imperial Silver Crystal?" From what she could gather, most of their enemies had simply wanted to crystal so they could destroy it, believing that if they did so the light would be weakened enough that the darkness could overpower it. What else would they want it for?

She shook her head again. This was more Ami's game than hers.

She turned to the right half of the page and wrote down two names "Tuxedo Kamen" and "Matt Sneider," with an obligatory heart next to the first one.

Yes, Darien was returning to Tokyo from Singapore tomorrow afternoon, and not a moment too soon. But he would understand that the Senshi needed his help. He couldn't expect a quiet vacation when he was involved with them, could he? He knew that.

And Sneider was…well, he was off to a good start, she supposed. She really didn't know exactly what to make of him.

Usagi smiled. It would be interesting having more than one guy on their team for a change.

Her phone buzzed, a text from Rei. Usagi frowned as she reached into her messenger bag to read it: "We have till midnight tomorrow night or Mina's toast."

Minutes earlier, Rei was startled to hear her phone ring while she walked the hallway of her school. It never rang except for emergencies. Not recognizing the number, she stepped outside into her school's courtyard and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Am I speaking with either Sailor Mars or, barring that, Rei Hino, in the flesh?" came a deep voice from the other end. She froze.

"Excuse me?"

She heard the faint sound of scuffling and sounds of protest and thought she could make out an angry voice saying, "Give me the phone, you idiot." Then, "Hello, Sailor Mars. This is your friend Lucretius. This call is being monitored for quality assurance."

Rei narrowed her eyes. This character was driving her up the wall. "What do you want?" she demanded. "You know I'm at school right now, right?"

"Oh forgive me Sailor Mars, but I assumed Ami was the one in your group who cared about school," said Lucretius. "In that case, I must have the wrong number."

"No, you don't. How the hell did you get this number anyway?"

"Fear not; I have no interest in stalking you. Although, something tells me you might get a thrill out of that sort of thing…ah, there's nothing like the sexually repressed craziness. It's so…" Rei cringed as Lucretius let out a low, lustful growl, "…fiery, if I may be permitted the expression. But I digress. The cliff notes version of this quality-assured phone call is that your friend the Senshi of Love has until midnight tomorrow night to live."

Rei shut her eyes and breathed deeply. "He's playing some kind of game with you, Mars," she told herself. "Don't give in."

"Unless…?" she asked.

"Ah, I'm glad you read my mind and saw there was a caveat," said Lucretius delightedly. "I've never witnessed this incredible thing you humans have called a 'party vessel' that floats on water before."

"You mean a boat?" Rei snarled.

"Yes yes, one of those," Lucretius replied. "So naturally, I've decided to slaughter two souls with one knife and decided to bring Sailor Venus onto one of those boats for safekeeping. This way I have an excuse to take over the vessel with plenty of innocent partygoers on it, forcing you into delivering the Imperial Silver Crystal knowing that you will put those people at risk if you try anything cute. Coincidentally, I've already made plans to do that tomorrow evening in Tokyo Harbor at around 10pm for a late-night cruise. The ship's name is the _Kan. _You will have until midnight to bring me the Imperial Silver Crystal—_fully intact and functional—_or I will send Sailor Venus bound and gagged to the bottom of the bay."

"You know what I think?" Rei snapped. "I think you can go fuck yourself. I think you're bluffing. You want us to be on a boat, a contained environment, where you'll have the advantage and you can pull a fast one on us. Doesn't sound like a trap at all. How stupid do you think we are?"

"YOU ARE ON THAT SHIP TOMORROW NIGHT OR YOU CAN SEARCH FOR SAILOR VENUS' BODY AMONG THE SUICIDES AT AOKIGOHARA FOREST," Lucretius roared, his humorous demeanor totally gone.

"And that's the situation," the Senshi of Fire told her friends that night, when they had all gathered at the Temple. "He's saying we have no choice, and he's going to be prepared if we try anything obvious. There are going to be innocent people involved, and we can't try to warn them or anything, or he'll know we're up to something. By the stars, I need a drink," she finished, kneeling down at her table as the other Senshi looked on. She left the room and returned with a half-full bottle of sake and a few glasses. "How are we going to plan this?" she asked as she started pouring.

Makoto accepted a glass and said, "This is definitely going to be difficult."

Just then, there was a scuffling and a rattle at the sliding door entrance to the room. A grunt and a muttered curse about Japanese architecture filtered in.

Rei closed her eyes slowly. "It's a sliding door, Matt," she called out.

The analyst carefully slid open the door and dragged himself in, looking pale and harassed. He collapsed into one of the sofas and eyed Rei's bottle. "Is that liquor?" he asked.

"Yes. I made it."

"Is it strong?"

"Kind of."

"Give me a glass."

The Senshi of Fire passed him one and watched as he downed it with a grimace. "That's fucking putrid," he observed after a few seconds of silence. He paused. "Give me another one."

"Here, take mine," Ami offered, having only taken a sip and wanting to keep her head clear.

Warmth spread through Matt's stomach as he slowly drained his second glass of sake. "Somebody had a long day at work," Makoto joked. Matt shut his eyes and groaned.

"So, about this situation we're in," Ami said, bringing the group back to its topic. "We must figure out how to rescue Mina without harming the innocent people or surrendering the Imperial Silver Crystal, all while on a fixed, contained environment that will limit the use of our powers. Let's figure out our options."

"Why don't we just ask for the guy in the mask and smoke the bastard?" Makoto asked after a long drink.

"Then we won't be able to find Mina," Ami pointed out. "Only Lucretius probably knows, and he isn't going to tell his underlings so we can't force it out of them. And bluffing isn't going to work either, for the obvious reason that we've tried it already."

"I think what needs to happen first is get all the innocent people off the boat," Usagi put in. "So he can't use them as cover."

"Someone shout 'fire', and make them all evacuate," Makoto offered. "And if necessary, we can start one." She looked pointedly at Rei. "Whoever stays is a bad guy."

"Hmm," said Rei thoughtfully, swirling her sake jerkily. "But if we do that, Lucretius will know what we're doing, and he might hurt Mina. I don't want that."

"So we make sure Mina is safe before we evacuate the boat," said Usagi.

"But how do we do that without confronting Lucretius first and putting folks in danger?" Makoto asked the million-dollar question. There was silence as the Senshi realized they were back at square one.

"Just fyi, I can't make it to this thing," Matt muttered sleepily from his chair. The girls all turned to him with exclamations of surprise.

"Why not?" Usagi asked gently.

"I know this is, like, in total violation of our contract for peace and love and all that, but I can't go; I can't get off work tomorrow night. I'm gonna have to sleep in the office again, I just know it."

"What? Can't you take the night off or something?" Rei demanded.

"I can't, Rei! This is investment banking. It's a miracle I still have this job as it is with all the time I've been missing, hanging out with you guys. There's a huge pitchbook due on Saturday morning, and there's no way we're getting out of there before dawn."

"Sailor Venus' life is in danger!" Rei snapped.

"The client doesn't care. The client wants his pitchbook. And we have to do it, dammit. FUCK!" he exploded, throwing his glass against the wall and shattering it.

There was a tense pause as Matt buried his face in his hands. "I'm sorry, guys; I can't help you," he mumbled. "I can't help you."

To everyone's surprise, Ami rose and went over to him. The blue-haired girl gently took his hands and pulled them away from his face. "Matt," she said. "I know how we can get you out of there. Remember what we talked about in the jail cell, that investment banking is a client-facing business and everything has to be done for them?"

The analyst slowly nodded.

"You could only get out of the office if you were doing something that would further the reputation of the bank, right? Meaning, it would have to be something very important relating to a client."

"Go on."

"So, presumably…if we all showed up and said we were clients, and made it seem as if we had a whole lot of capital and were interested in using the bank's services…and wanted to meet with you, and you only…you could get out of there and come with us."

Matt stared at her and slowly grinned. "I think that could work," he breathed, eyes wide. In his (slightly buzzed) state, he did something he didn't normally do, which was give her a kiss on the cheek and said, "You're a genius."

"Aww," Usagi said, breaking the tension. Ami blushed furiously.

"So, we basically say we're there to see you, act really important, and pretend we have a ton of cash?" Makoto asked.

"Something like that, I guess," said Matt as Ami returned to her seat, not making eye contact with him for the rest of the night. "You can never act too pompous," he added. "I'll be in a suit too, so the dinner cruise thing will work out."

"OOOHH!" Usagi squealed with delight. "Do we get to dress up since we're going on the cruise? I LOVE DRESSING UP! Oooh, and Kamen can wear his black tuxedo, and you can all have dresses matching your colors, and it'll be so—romantic—GEE!" The Moon Princess could barely contain her giddiness.

"Dibs on carrying Mina off the boat to safety," Rei laughed as she finished her drink. As their conversation turned to lighter things, the Senshi of Fire grimaced as she thought about how dangerous it would be, climbing on that boat.


	10. Chapter 10: I'm On A Boat

_CHAPTER 10 - I'M ON A BOAT_

Matt Sneider was jerked out of his eyes-glazed over Excel stupor by his desk phone ringing.

"Yeah Jim, I'll have those numbers in a few minutes," tumbled out of his mouth when he answered.

"Okay good, but I wasn't actually calling about that," said his supervisor. "There's a group in the lobby that says they would like to speak with you."

"At this hour?" Matt tried to sound surprised. He had been hoping to finish all his work before the Senshi arrived...

"They said they were here specifically to meet with you," said Jim. "I'm not really comfortable with that unless I meet one of them to figure out exactly what's going on here."

"Um…alright sure, can they send someone up?"

A few minutes later, Sneider and Greenberg were waiting outside the elevator bank for a representative of Moon Prism Capital Management.

A power-suit clad Ami Mizuno stepped out of the elevator and approached the two of them with a well-rehearsed business handshake. "Good to see you again, Mr. Sneider," she said in a practiced, "I'm important" tone.

"Jim Greenberg, welcome to Goldman Sachs," his boss said, shaking her hand. "You've picked a very busy night to stop by, Ms. Mizuno."

"Yes Jim, we're all busy," Ami responded briskly. "We're attending a fundraising cruise this evening, and we'd like to extend an invitation to Matt here. We think he'll be in a great position to make contacts and gain insight for the bank. Can he take the night off early if he makes sure someone else can cover his work?"

"Really now. A fundraiser? He didn't tell me. I'm not sure about this—it would look bad for the team if he gets to take off while the rest of the group is working for the rest of the night."

"It's a very important event for startups in the healthcare/biotech industries, and we really insist that Goldman have somebody present if they'd like a cut of the action," said Ami, brushing him aside. "There will be some _very smart capital_ in attendance."

Jim visibly perked up at that. "Well if that's the case, why didn't you say so? Here Matt, take some business cards and get going. And," he withdrew the company's black Amex credit card and handed it to him. "On the house," he said with a wink.

"Well that was…relatively easy," Matt said to Ami as the elevator descended once more.

"For you," she asked him with relief. "Do you know how difficult it was for me to be so…robotic? Condescending? I had to fight not to wince when I spoke."

"Yes…yes, I do," he replied.

When they had stepped outside, they made their way to the small group clustered near the fountain, dressed in their formal best. Matt recognized them all except for the taller, impeccably dressed man wearing a bespoke suit that even his MD would have been jealous of.

"Tuxedo Kamen," he extended a white-gloved handshake. "You must be Matt. Usagi's told me everything about you."

"Matt Sneider, Goldma Sachs, damned glad to meet you, is that Armani you're wearing?"

"Uhm, well…" Usagi's boyfriend glanced down at his outfit. "I'm not sure, exactly. It kind of just appeared on me one day."

"I see…wow, that kinda happens a lot with this group, doesn't it?"

Kamen scratched the back of his head. "…yup," he observed. Matt took a look at the other Senshi.

"You guys seriously color-coded your dresses? I thought that was a joke!" he cried out at the rainbow of Senshi color before him.

"Well—you have to easily be able to tell who's who, right?" Makoto asked. "If you need to find me, just look for the tall, talented girl wearing green."

"Mm-hmm…" Matt looked at her thoughtfully.

The Senshi of Thunder scowled. "My eyes are _up here, _Matt," she chided, grabbing the bottom of his chin and forcing his gaze upwards.

"S-sorry…" he stammered. "I can't help it. Please don't kill me."

And that was the truth. The truth was, he really couldn't help himself. He had difficulty remembering sometimes that the girls were supposed to be just comrades. But the deep side leg split on Rei's maroon dress was making that thought difficult, as was the plunging emerald neckline that Makoto had already chastised him for. Then there was Usagi and Kamen, already looking the royal couple of the future, her simple white dress marking her.

Even Ami, for whom they had stopped back at Makoto's so she could change into formalwear, rose to the occasion. Usagi and her Senshi squealed with girlish delight (Matt and Kamen had to cover their ears) as the genius emerged in a strapless turquoise dress, her pale skin and blue hair unused to the attention. She blushed furiously when Makoto said, "Damn, look at us! Some guy's gonna get lucky tonight after we kick Lucretius' ass on the boat!"

"Well how bout that," Matt observed silenty. "The nerd cleans up nice." He looked down at his navy blue suit, a graduation gift from his uncle that had gotten worn a bit around the elbows.

As they looked for taxis for the ride to the harbor, Matt thought that it freakishly reminded him of his high-school prom, only much less awkward, the girls were much more attractive, and nobody was sobbing in the bathroom like the movies. It could have been a nice night out between friends. But this was the Sailor Senshi. Of course, this was a good deal more important.

The group rolled up to a gleaming seaport terminal, with a truly massive ship sitting in a dock like a floating skyscraper. A large sumptuous ballroom spread itself amidships, floor-to-ceiling windows opening a view out onto the harbor. A grand staircase poured widely down upon the main floor.

The Senshi human rainbow (plus an awkward black and navy blue) appeared at the top of it and surveyed the crowd below. All impeccably dressed, eating hors d'ouevres and sipping champagne passed around by tuxedoed waiters. Kamen cracked his neck and brushed the dirt off his shoulders self-consciously. "I saw that," Usagi smiled at him.

"Damn son," whispered Matt, admiring the opulent surroundings. "Talk about being on a boat."

"Okay, remember the plan," said Rei (Matt was glad she was facing Usagi and not in his direction, as he had inadvertently glanced at her legs before looking her in the face). "None of us sees Mina, Lucretius, or anything else suspicious right now. We have to find an excuse to get these people out of here, now."

"I believe this would be one of those instances where it would be okay to shout 'Fire' in a crowded theater," Tuxedo Kamen observed.

Rei winked salaciously. "I've got plenty of that." A small flare appeared at her fingertips.

Usagi frowned. "Be sure to aim for an empty corner of the boat, Rei," she cautioned. The Moon Princess laced her fingers with Tuxedo Kamen's for a moment, the lull before the battle that she always savored. Makoto's fingers twitched. Ami's blue goggles went down. Matt tightened his suit jacket around the guns that hung closely against his chest. Tuxedo Kamen twirled a rose with two fingers on one hand, while the other gently stroked Usagi's.

"Here we go," she whispered as the Senshi descended the stairs.


	11. Chapter 11: Symbolic

_CHAPTER 11 – SYMBOLIC_

Rei playfully rolled her fingers, cuddling the delicious fireball in her left hand. Then, as discreetly as she could manage, she tossed it into the least-populated area of the ballroom.

"Everybody, please remain calm and head for the exits!" Tuxedo Kamen yelled. "Please, do not panic!"

Mayhem erupted on the dance floor; white and black ties and all different colors of dresses flew this way and that as the partygoers fled the scene. A mob of them rushed up the grand staircase where they stood. The Senshi slid and elbowed their way in the opposite direction of the crowd as they descended the stairway, everyone too panicked to wonder why this small group of people was headed _toward _the danger rather than away from it.

Yet not everyone was fleeing Rei's fire; several dozen people remained, and they didn't look happy to see them.

"You ladies picked a horrible night to interrupt us!" roared one of them. "Long live our master, Lucretius! RAAAAAHHH!" With a menacing yell and a flash of black fire, those who remained after the crowd had left removed their disguises to become the monster youma that the Senshi feared. They were all spindly, menacing figures, cloaked in gray-green armor, many holding blades and other weapons.

"Kill them! Kill 'em all!" the head youma snarled, pulling a terrifying axe in front of its scaly body.

Matt Sneider remained frozen at the top of the staircase, his hands trembling and pale. He could see the entire floor from up here; his eyes widened when he saw the youma transform from their human disguises. He gulped and struggled to find his confidence; there were just so damn many! How would they make this work?

"Fuck it," he thought to himself. "Just do it." He reached into his jacket and withdrew those two blessed Moon pistols.

"I don't think so!" Matt roared, opening fire.

His first several shots punctured the scaly tissue of the head youma with the axe, spilling rivers of black blood. It shrieked in surprise and anger as it sunk to its knees and sought cover.

The other youma hadn't even noticed him, the nondescript person standing at the top of the stairs, focusing only on the Senshi they knew well, right in front of them. Several monsters went down with wounds before they even realized what was happening.

While their friend did his job, the girls transformed, with Usagi muttering, "I was hoping to last a little longer in this dress…"

"GET HIM!" the axe youma roared in fury. Immediately, three lizard-like youma charged up the red velvet staircase to attack their new enemy.

One shot from Ebony—one monster down. One shot from Ivory—two down. The other one charged right down the middle…

Matt did the first thing that came to mind—brought up his loafer-clad foot in direct contact with the charging youma's head. More surprised than hurt, the youma lost its balance and tumbled over backwards down the steps.

"Ow," Matt muttered, pain shooting through his foot as he ran down the stairs to join his comrades.

Rei grabbed one of the youma by its throat and bodily tossed it into the hellish fire she had already started. "Take that," she whispered, before being tackled by another monster from behind.

"Gah! Usagi, get down!" Tuxedo Kamen yelled as he let the roses fly. The Moon Princess threw herself on the floor as her fiancé impaled two more youma who were getting ready to jump up behind her. He pulled out his long black cane and charged another one, furiously beating at it as if he was using a baseball bat. Sailor Moon swung herself to her feet and smashed her Moon Rod against an oncoming youma, flinging it back from her in a bright _pop _of lunar energy.

Fire, lightning, gunshots, and flashes of light filled the ballroom, a small pitched battle going on all at once.

Rei struggled to breath as the youma that had tackled her tried to clamp its claws around her throat. The beast pressed itself roughly against her back as it tried to impale her. The Senshi of Fire braced herself, gritting her teeth; she retched as she reached behind herself and brought the youma's body crashing down on the floor in front of her.

The youma grunted in pain but recovered quickly, swiping her square in the face with its fist, bringing Sailor Mars down to his level. As the monster tried to leap onto her, Rei quickly brandished an ofuda and tagged it, immobilizing the youma so she could put an end to its life with a brutal crush of a red heel to the skull.

"Mercury Bubbles…BLAST!" Ami yelled, spreading her icy fog through the room. Through her goggles, the Senshi of Water could see and hear the sounds of the Senshi wiping the floor with the enemy youma. It was encouraging to see the battle going so well. Of course, anything that seemed simple and easy made her suspicious.

"Mercury, duck!" Sailor Jupiter yelled, flinging a lightning bolt at an unseen enemy behind Ami. She dropped to the floor immediately, feeling her hair stand up in close proximity to the lightning. Hearing the rapid footsteps of another charging youma, Mercury rose with a mighty uppercut to the throat, stopping the demon right in its tracks. As it collapsed to the floor, Sailor Jupiter called down another thunderbolt; the youma's slit eyes widened in terror as the bolt struck it and reduced it to dust.

"Nice," said Makoto, breathing heavily as she high-fived Ami.

"Hey, there goes another one!" Sailor Mercury pointed to a youma who was sprinting along well out of range along the edge of the ballroom. She stared a little more closely at a yellow-orange gleam that was issuing from its hand. Shaking her head once to focus, she zoomed in with her goggles to see Sailor Venus' transformation pen. Why did this monster have it?

"He must be running to wherever they're keeping Minako," she thought as she took off after it at a dead sprint. Her sapphire-blue boots squeaked on the wooden floors as she gave chase.

With a yell of strength, Makoto clapped another youma on either side of its head with her fists. Her eyes widened in horror as the burst of intense electricity resulted in a now-headless youma collapsing to the ground. It soon dissolved into the familiar pile of moon dust.

"Woo! I didn't expect that," Makoto looked at her hands. She spun around to check on Ami, who was in hot pursuit of the other demon who was carrying Mina's pen. As Makoto started to look away, she saw a green, scaly demon with a menacing scythe start to chase Ami.

Lightning crackled in Sailor Jupiter's fingertips as she prepared to take the monster out, but she screamed in pain as a youma blade slashed her in the back and she tumbled to the ground. Makoto rolled to the right to avoid the youma's furious follow-up stab. She managed to leap to her feet in time to duck and dodge stab after stab.

But Ami was still unaware that she was being chased, as she was too focused on catching up Minako's apparent jailor. Makoto angrily caught the monster's wrist as it tried to slash at her again. While it struggled to break her tight hold, Jupiter called out to the nearest person available:

"MATT! Shoot that thing!"

The gunner clubbed a three-horned demon in the face with the butt of one pistol and finished it with a shot to the heart before whirling around to face her. "Wha?"

"SHOOT! HIM!" Sailor Jupiter roared, motioning wildly with her head, her ponytail flipping.

Sneider's eyes finally focused on the monster chasing Ami (after diverting his attention from her legs) and raised both pistols, one right next to the other like a double-barreled shotgun. He let out his breath and squeezed off the shot, nailing the beast right on the hip. The monster skidded and fell, and Ami tackled her target just before it reached one of the exits far in the corner of the ballroom.

As Makoto started to wrestle with her demon for control of its rusty blade, a lunar bullet penetrated its claw, causing it to drop its weapon and leaving Makoto time to kick it solidly in the chest. As the beast fell backwards onto the floor, Jupiter grabbed the youma blade and sank it into its Negaversian flesh.

"You're welcome!" Matt laughed to her. What the hell, was he actually _enjoying _himself?

Meanwhile, Ami grabbed Mina's pen off of the youma's body. "I'll be taking this, thank you," she said before dashing through the exit that had been the monster's objective before its untimely demise.

"Lucretius!" a harassed-looking youma stumbled into his commander's office on the boat to find him sitting patiently at his desk. "The Senshi are here!"

Lucretius, black-and-white nightmare mask ablaze, calmly looked up from his desk as if his lieutenant had just told him it was going to rain tonight. "Well, it seems I may have to show myself and ask them to dance," he said. Standing up, he pocketed the small black orb that he had been working on and followed the soldier out the door.

Ami found it was relatively easy to find where Lucretius' minions were keeping Minako; it was just a matter of finding where all the guards were (and if they weren't out fighting her friends in the main ballroom, what else would they be guarding?). The genius stole her way along the deck outside, the pleasant breeze in her nostrils, her eyes darting this way and that.

As the Senshi of Water floored two more demons by smashing their heads together, she found herself in front of a locked door far on the starboard side of the boat. Trying the doorknob, she found it locked. Ami pressed her ear against the door and listened; she thought she heard heavy breathing inside.

Grabbing a heavy, club-like weapon from the unconscious youma at her feet, Ami broke down the door and peered inside to see a slender figure with a large black bag over its head, lying on the floor. Mercury gently knelt by its side and removed the bag, smiling with joy to see Mina's exhausted, tear-stained face. The Senshi of Love in human form looked at Mercury as if she was an illusion.

"Hi, Mina," Ami whispered as she untied her bonds. "Sorry I'm late—" but as soon as Mina's bonds were loosed, she wrapped Sailor Mercury in a tight embrace, cutting her off. "I'm so happy to see you," she croaked. "You have no idea what they've been doing to me…"

"I believe this…belongs to you," Ami smiled at her as she handed her the Sailor Venus pen. Minako stared at it.

"Gimme that!" she commanded. "These guys are gonna have HELL to pay. VENUS POWER—MAKE-UP!"

Sailor Mercury looked with relief at the newly transformed, revitalized Sailor Venus. "Ready for revenge?" she asked.

Venus cracked her knuckles. "Let's go. Oh, and by the way…" she added as she prepared to follow Mercury back to the main ballroom, "don't ever let me drink that much again."

"Moon Tiara—MAGIC!" Sailor Moon dusted the very last youma from clear on the other side of the ballroom as Mercury's fog lifted.

Tuxedo Kamen hugged her close. "Beautiful job, Usagi."

Several yards away, Matt Sneider whooped, "WOO! YEAH! We kicked ALL your asses! What ya'll think of THAT?" Makoto walked over and gave him a firm handshake. "Good team effort," she observed.

"Indeed," came a deep-throated growl that they knew so well.

Lucretius, terrifying black and white mask sneering at them, clomped down the main ballroom stairway the Senshi had descended only a little while ago. His dark brown hat with the wide rims and his long brown coat made him look even more like a demonic friar of some forsaken order.

"Where is Sailor Venus, you creep?" Sailor Mars challenged. "We're finding her whether you tell us or not!"

Lucretius cackled and took a few more steps down. "Let me see…how about 'no'?"

"You're gonna pay for that!" Tuxedo Kamen called. With a deft flourish of his white-gloved fingers, he flung a handful of razor-tipped roses at the youma leader. Lucretius staggered backwards as they punctured his heavy brown robe. He looked down at his upper arm, protruding roses.

"That's all?" he laughed sonorously, brushing the roses off of himself. "Go ahead and try to attack me…if you can!" he taunted.

"Mars, Fire, IGNITE!"

"Jupiter Thunder…CRASH!"

Lucretius smirked as the Senshi attacks blazed towards him, menacing flame and crackling energy. A mere mortal would not have been able to survive such a blast.

But this was Lucretius. Smirking, he crouched into his robe, pulling it around himself to cover his head. Fire and thunder engulfed him; Makoto's eyes gleamed in triumph. Her expression soon changed…

Rising in the middle of the burst of fire that had surrounded him, Lucretius swept his robe away from his body, scattering the flames and sparks and revealing no damage to himself. Ashes and wear-and-tear were visible on his robe, but the youma himself remained, his nightmare mask unscathed.

"It's time to break out the big guns," Usagi thought. "Desperate times call for desperate measures." The Moon Princess slowly raised her Moon Spiral Heart Rod, with the Imperial Silver Crystal at its apex. It gleamed comfortably in her hand, making her feel strong and confident. A brilliant white light began to coalesce around her weapon.

The kabuki mask on Lucretius' face inched down a bit. "Oh please, go right ahead," he told himself, steeling his demonic form. "Go right ahead, Moon Princess," he tempted her. "Hit me with your best shot."

Later on, Usagi would realize that many future struggles could have been prevented for the Senshi if only she had stopped to _think. _Why was this youma so eager for her to attack him? Why didn't he seem eager to defend himself? Wasn't there something suspicious about that?

But in the heat of combat, Sailor Moon didn't think.

"MOON! CRYSTAL! POWER!" she yelled, flinging a beam of concentrated, pure light at Lucretius.

Quick as lightning, Lucretius deftly fished a black orb out of his pocket and held it out in front of him. He popped the device open and caught the moon beam head-on.

Lucretius grunted, and his body shook as he held back the energy of Sailor Moon's Imperial righteousness. Usagi watched him, her blue eyes widening. "Huh?" she wondered out loud. She lowered her Heart Rod, shutting off the beam and watching what was happening to Lucretius.

Lucretius had beads of black sweat billowing down his mask as he seemed to wrestle with the black orb that had just taken a hit from all the energetic might of the future Moon Kingdom. The orb became blurry and shimmered in his hands, turning violent shades of purple, then deep blue. It then oscillated wildly, as though trying to throw Lucretius off of it. The big youma forced it down to the floor and angrily smothered it with his body, clutching it in both of his demonic fists. It would have been a little funny to watch if the Senshi weren't watching, so perplexed.

Finally, the black orb gave one final quiver before falling motionless and slowly turning back to its original, deep black color. An evil chuckle escaped Lucretius' mouth as he rose to his feet with the orb.

"Why thank you, Sailor Moon."

"Wha…bu….you just…what did you just do?!" she cried.

"_I _have done nothing," Lucretius replied. "But you have just lent me your power for a most…_intriguing purpose." _Something about the way he said that struck a deep fear into the hearts of all present. It was full of such sinister malice that it would torment Usagi mercilessly afterwards. _What had she done?_

"Speak English, buddy," Sailor Jupiter piped up, her voice quivering. "What purpose?"

"…_a Soul Cage,_" Lucretius whispered.

"VENUS! CRESCENT V—SMASH!" a feminine snarl emerged from across the room, a powerful energy beam blasting through the floor under Lucretius' feet, sending him plunging into the depths below the ship.

"Did I come at a bad time?" Sailor Venus tossed her blonde head, eager to be back.

"Mina, uh…" Rei started to speak before being interrupted by Lucretius smashing his way back up through the deck into the air.

"Your defeat shall be legendary, Sailor Senshi! And by the time you realize what shall happen to you, I will be eons away, laughing at your demise!" With a guttural roar, Lucretius vanished with a burst of black fire.

Silence.

Sailor Venus glanced around at everyone else. "Okay, so, uh…what'd I miss?"

Sailor Moon turned very pale and didn't seem to hear her. "Ami? What the hell is a Soul Cage?"

Sailor Mercury shook her head, staring at the place where Lucretius had just been standing, now marked by an angry, black ashmark on the floor. "I don't know," she said softly.

Black loafers padded the floor as Matt Sneider, suit and tie rumpled, torn, and dirty, pocketed his pistols and walked over to Sailor Venus with a hand outstretched for a shake.

"Matt Sneider, Goldman Sachs," he introduced himself. "I think we should bring you up to speed…"


End file.
